NEW YORK- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, during his meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Italy on Saturday, did not refer to the content of the 2015 Japan-South Korea agreement for solving the issue of Korean comfort women, a spokesman for the UN chief said Sunday.

The comment by the spokesman contradicts the Japanese government's earlier announcement that Guterres showed support for the content of the agreement during the meeting.

The spokesman said in a statement that Guterres and Abe "did discuss" the issue of comfort women, who were forced into prostitution for Japanese troops before and during World War II.

"The secretary-general agreed that this is a matter to be solved by an agreement between Japan and the Republic of Korea," the statement said.

But it added, "The secretary-general did not pronounce himself on the content of a specific agreement but on the principle that it is up to the two countries to define the nature and the content of the solution for this issue." (Jiji Press)