U.S. calls for 'urgent' restraint to ease Japan, South Korea tensions

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States appealed to Japan and South Korea on Tuesday to work urgently to reduce the tensions between them, saying its two main allies in Asia could not afford to let their troubled history interfere with ensuring regional security.

"There is an urgent need to show prudence and restraint in dealing with difficult historical issues. It is important to handle them in a way that promotes healing," Washington's top diplomat for the East Asian region, Daniel Russel, said in prepared testimony for a U.S. Senate hearing.