A South Korean man was indicted Monday for attempted arson at the Japanese embassy in Seoul, presumably out of anger over a historical dispute between the two countries, prosecutors said.
The 57-year-old defendant is suspected of approaching the embassy with four bottles of "soju" (vodka-like, rice liquor with high potency) and a 1.5-litre plastic bottle filled with gasoline, as well as a lighter on September 5 before being caught by a police officer on guard, the Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office said.
Prosecutors said he planned to set the embassy building on fire as he was "disgusted by Japan's shameless attitude regarding South Korean women who were forced into sexual slavery for Japanese soldiers during World War II", Yonhap News Agency reported.