The South Korean government has decided for the second consecutive year not to attend Japan’s memorial for Korean victims of forced labor at the Sado mine.

An official said Thursday that while Seoul held talks with Tokyo to ensure the ceremony would properly honor the victims and comfort their families, the two sides failed to bridge differences on key issues.

In particular, Seoul pressed for the memorial address to explicitly acknowledge that Koreans were mobilized against their will and forced to work, but Tokyo did not agree.

With Japan’s ceremony set for September 13, the government concluded there was insufficient time to resolve the dispute.

Instead, South Korea will host its own memorial service this autumn to honor the victims and their families.