South Korea and Japan opened another round of talks Tuesday to resolve the issue of Korean women forced into sexual slavery for Japanese soldiers during World War II.
The issue of the so-called comfort women has been a major thorn in bilateral ties and the two countries’ leaders agreed last month to accelerate negotiations for a swift solution.
On Tuesday, the two sides met in Tokyo for the 11th session led by Lee Sang-deok, director-general of the South Korean Foreign Ministry’s Northeast Asian bureau, and Kimihiro Ishikane, who heads the Japanese foreign ministry’s Asian and Oceanian affairs bureau.
Historians estimate that more than 200,000 women, mostly Koreans, were forced to work at front-line brothels for Japanese soldiers during the war. Korea was under Japanese colonial rule from 1910-45.
South Korea demands Japan offer a formal apology and proper compensation to the victims before they all die. Earlier this month, a former South Korean comfort woman died aged 96, reducing the number of surviving victims in the country to 46.
Japan insists the issue was settled in a package deal under a 1965 treaty that normalized bilateral ties. (Yonhap)
