Japan urges South Korea to implement comfort women agreement

December 29, 2017

Tokyo- The Japanese government Thursday protested through diplomatic channels against South Korean President Moon Jae-in's remarks criticizing the bilateral accord to resolve the issue of so-called comfort women, urging South Korea to implement the agreement.

Earlier on Thursday, Moon said that the 2015 bilateral agreement cannot settle the issue of the women who were forced into prostitution for Japanese troops chiefly during World War II.

The Japanese government's worries are growing about possible negative effects on bilateral cooperation to counter North Korea's missile and nuclear development programs.

Japanese Ambassador to South Korea Yasumasa Nagamine in Seoul lodged a protest over the phone with South Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam and demanded a steady implementation of the deal.

In Tokyo, Kenji Kanasugi, director-general of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, also told Lee Hee-sup, a high-ranking official at the South Korean embassy, by phone that the two countries have no policy option other than upholding the accord.

A senior ministry official said the Japanese government's stance toward the agreement will never change, ruling out the possibility of accepting any request by South Korea for renegotiations on the deal.

Tokyo sees close cooperation between Japan and South Korea, as well as Japan-South Korea-US ties, as important to increase pressure on North Korea. Jiji Press