A memorial ceremony is held on November 24, 2024, for the Sado Island Gold Mines, listed this summer as a UNESCO World Heritage, in Sado, Niigata prefecture, Japan, as seats reserved for South Korean guests remain empty. South Korea announced it would not attend the event, saying it was impossible to settle disagreements between the two governments in time. Some 1,500 Koreans were sent to Sado as forced laborers during WWII, reported Korea Times. Photo: VCG