South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has hosted a luncheon to welcome a visit by a group of South Korean atomic bomb survivors living in Japan.

The delegation of about 40 members includes survivors of the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima, known as hibakusha. They arrived in Seoul on Thursday at the invitation of the South Korean government.

Yoon and his wife hosted the luncheon on Friday. It was also attended by atomic bomb survivors living in South Korea.

Yoon apologized for taking so long to invite the hibakusha from Japan. He said the South Korean government will never again turn its back on their pain. Yoon said he hopes the visit will help ease the sorrow the survivors have experienced.

Representing the delegation, Kwon Joon-oh thanked the president for visiting a monument dedicated to South Korean bomb victims at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in May.

Kwon heads the Committee Seeking Measures for the Korean A-bomb Victims at the Hiroshima office of the Korean Residents Union in Japan.

Kwon said the hibakusha's wish is to see a world without nuclear weapons. He said the group's members will continue to support efforts by the South Korean government to achieve denuclearization.