South Korea’s president on Thursday urged Japan to contemplate its wartime past and offered to engage in talks to repair strained ties.

In a speech marking Korea’s independence from Japanese rule, President Moon Jae-in toned down his recent harsh rhetoric towards Japan, Reuters said.

“We hope that Japan will play a leading role together in facilitating peace and prosperity in East Asia while it contemplates a past that brought misfortune to its neighboring countries,” Moon said in a televised address. “If Japan chooses the path of dialogue and cooperation, we will gladly join hands.”

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, speaking at a ceremony honoring war dead on Thursday said Japan had engraved the “lessons of history deep in our hearts,” and pledged never to repeat the devastation of war.