No progress made at negotiations
By Yi Whan-woo
Korea dismissed Japan's claims, Wednesday, that its legal responsibility for coercing Korean women into sexual slavery during World War II was settled when the two countries signed a bilateral treaty in 1965, indicating that tough talks lie ahead on how to resolve the issue.
"We remain firm that the issue of wartime sex slavery was not included in the 1965 treaty that normalized diplomatic relations between Korea and Japan," First Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam said during a radio interview.
"So, Japan's claims that it no longer has legal responsibility are wrong."
Lim's comment revealed a yawning gap between the two countries over the issue.
Korean and Japanese diplomats had their 10th round of talks in Seoul to resolve their decades-long dispute over Japan's sexual enslavement of Korean women. However, they failed to narrow their differences, officials said.
"We've agreed to hold the next round of talks as early as possible and set the date accordingly," a foreign ministry official said on condition of anonymity.
Lee Sang-deok, director-general of the Northeast Asian Affairs Bureau at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, led the Korean delegation
The Tokyo delegation was led by Kimihiro Ishikane, director-general of Japan's Asian and Oceania Affairs Bureau.
The Seoul government acknowledged that the two sides had a discrepancy over whether Japan should address legal liabilities over its state-perpetrated sex crimes or can deal with them on humanitarian grounds.
The diplomatic dialogue took place amid prolonged discord between the two neighbors over the 1965 Korea-Japan Normalization Treaty, following a summit between their leaders last week at Cheong Wa Dae.
In their one-on-one meeting on Nov. 2, President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe promised to speed up negotiations over Tokyo's sex crimes.
But the 1965 pact remains at the center of the controversy although it was originally aimed at restoring Seoul-Tokyo ties after Japan's 1910-45 period of colonial rule of the peninsula.
Effective from Dec. 18, 1965, it mainly covered four areas: economic cooperation, citizenship status of ethnic Koreans living in Japan, fishing rights and cultural exchanges.
Tokyo has claimed it completely resolved all colonial-era issues, including its state-perpetrated sex offenses, on a government-to-government basis in the form of economic cooperation under the 1965 treaty.
It has cited the provision to Korea of $300 million in free grants and $200 million in soft loans after the agreement was signed.
Instead, Seoul argues that such funds do not cover compensation for former sex slaves here.
Koreans accounted for a majority of an estimated 200,000 "comfort women" who were coerced into prostitution at frontline brothels operated by the Japanese Army across the Pacific region.
Seoul has asked Japan to offer sincere apologies and also address its legal liability for providing individual compensation to the surviving victims.
Lim's comment is viewed as a move to press Japan to engage in talks in a more sincere manner.
Park is seeking to resolve the historical conflict by the end of this year on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the restoration of Seoul-Tokyo ties.
The nationalist leader Abe and his Cabinet said that the negotiations will take longer than Park anticipates.
"The two countries are on the same page in accelerating negotiations under the agreement of the last week's Seoul-Tokyo summit. I'd say any distortion of this will be against walking the right path in terms of diplomacy," Lim said.
By Yi Whan-woo
Korea dismissed Japan's claims, Wednesday, that its legal responsibility for coercing Korean women into sexual slavery during World War II was settled when the two countries signed a bilateral treaty in 1965, indicating that tough talks lie ahead on how to resolve the issue.
"We remain firm that the issue of wartime sex slavery was not included in the 1965 treaty that normalized diplomatic relations between Korea and Japan," First Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam said during a radio interview.
"So, Japan's claims that it no longer has legal responsibility are wrong."
Lim's comment revealed a yawning gap between the two countries over the issue.
Korean and Japanese diplomats had their 10th round of talks in Seoul to resolve their decades-long dispute over Japan's sexual enslavement of Korean women. However, they failed to narrow their differences, officials said.
"We've agreed to hold the next round of talks as early as possible and set the date accordingly," a foreign ministry official said on condition of anonymity.
Lee Sang-deok, director-general of the Northeast Asian Affairs Bureau at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, led the Korean delegation
The Tokyo delegation was led by Kimihiro Ishikane, director-general of Japan's Asian and Oceania Affairs Bureau.
The Seoul government acknowledged that the two sides had a discrepancy over whether Japan should address legal liabilities over its state-perpetrated sex crimes or can deal with them on humanitarian grounds.
The diplomatic dialogue took place amid prolonged discord between the two neighbors over the 1965 Korea-Japan Normalization Treaty, following a summit between their leaders last week at Cheong Wa Dae.
In their one-on-one meeting on Nov. 2, President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe promised to speed up negotiations over Tokyo's sex crimes.
But the 1965 pact remains at the center of the controversy although it was originally aimed at restoring Seoul-Tokyo ties after Japan's 1910-45 period of colonial rule of the peninsula.
Effective from Dec. 18, 1965, it mainly covered four areas: economic cooperation, citizenship status of ethnic Koreans living in Japan, fishing rights and cultural exchanges.
Tokyo has claimed it completely resolved all colonial-era issues, including its state-perpetrated sex offenses, on a government-to-government basis in the form of economic cooperation under the 1965 treaty.
It has cited the provision to Korea of $300 million in free grants and $200 million in soft loans after the agreement was signed.
Instead, Seoul argues that such funds do not cover compensation for former sex slaves here.
Koreans accounted for a majority of an estimated 200,000 "comfort women" who were coerced into prostitution at frontline brothels operated by the Japanese Army across the Pacific region.
Seoul has asked Japan to offer sincere apologies and also address its legal liability for providing individual compensation to the surviving victims.
Lim's comment is viewed as a move to press Japan to engage in talks in a more sincere manner.
Park is seeking to resolve the historical conflict by the end of this year on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the restoration of Seoul-Tokyo ties.
The nationalist leader Abe and his Cabinet said that the negotiations will take longer than Park anticipates.
"The two countries are on the same page in accelerating negotiations under the agreement of the last week's Seoul-Tokyo summit. I'd say any distortion of this will be against walking the right path in terms of diplomacy," Lim said.
