Abe urges Moon to implement comfort women pact agreement

February 11, 2018

Pyeongchang, South Korea- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at a meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Friday urged Seoul to steadily implement its 2015 bilateral accord with Tokyo on the issue of so-called comfort women.

They reaffirmed cooperation among the two Asian countries and the United States in dealing with North Korea's nuclear and missile development programs. The two leaders also agreed to make efforts for building a future-oriented Japan-South Korea relationship.

During the bilateral summit, held in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Abe explained Japan's position on the bilateral accord for "finally and irreversibly" resolving the issue of Korean women, who were forced into prostitution for Japanese troops before and during World War II.

At the outset of the meeting, Abe said that the comfort women accord is a promise between the Japanese and South Korean governments, adding that it is an international and universal principle that countries keep their promises even after a change of government, he said.

Abe said he wants South Korea to fully implement the comfort women accord. The bilateral agreement was signed in December 2015 under the Abe government and the administration of then South Korean President Park Geun-hye.

Moon said the agreement failed to win support from former comfort women and the South Korean public, adding that the comfort women issue is not something that can be resolved through intergovernmental negotiations.

To realize a real solution, the honor and dignity of the former comfort women must be restored, and the Japanese and South Korean governments need to keep working together, Moon said. Jiji Press