By Yi Whan-woo
Korea and Japan agreed to push for early establishment of a foundation aimed at helping former Korean sex slaves before and during World War II in a working-level talks in Tokyo, Tuesday.
It was the first dialogue between the Asian neighbors concerning their agreement on Dec. 28 to "finally and irrevocably" settle the issue of "comfort women" forced into sexual servitude for Japanese troops.
Chung Byung-won, the director-general at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Northeast Asian Affairs Bureau, led the Seoul delegation.
The Japanese side was headed by Kimihiro Ishikane, director-general of the Japanese foreign ministry's Asian and Oceania Affairs Bureau.
"We explained to the Japanese side that we are carrying out an internal review of various aspects regarding the establishment of the foundation," Chung said after the meeting.
"In line with the Dec. 28 deal, We agreed to carry out to restore the victims' honor and heal their wounds as soon as possible."
Diplomatic sources speculated that the delegates may have discussed a possible second summit between President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, D.C., scheduled from March 31 to April 1.
The two leaders had their first one-on-one meeting in Seoul on Nov. 2.
They then agreed to spur negotiations on wartime sexual slavery for an early breakthrough.
Despite the agreement, Seoul and Tokyo have still failed to make a breakthrough in their decades-long dispute because they remain apart in interpreting the provision of compensation for the former sex slaves.
Tokyo insists on removing a statue of a girl situated across the street from the Japanese Embassy in Seoul.
The statue symbolizes the victims of Japan's state-perpetrated sex crimes. Japan claims the statue's removal will be a precondition for the country contributing 1 billion yen ($8.9 million) to set up a foundation to help the dwindling number of surviving victims in Korea
Seoul maintains the view that the government cannot meddle in the issues involving the statute, saying it was set up by civilians.
The agreement also has drawn a backlash from surviving victims and their advocates, who claim the government did not adequately consult with them before striking the deal.
Seoul has remained low-key about the comfort women in line with the two nations agreeing to refrain from accusing each other over sex slavery issues.
However, Japanese government officials have been making disparaging statements about Japan's responsibility for the sex slavery, according to the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination.
Tokyo also denied coercion of wartime sex slaves in a report submitted to the U.N. in February.
The U.N. Human Rights Committee assessed that Japan was not sufficiently carrying out its recommendations concerning the "comfort women," according to Tokyo's Kyodo News Agency, Tuesday.
Korea and Japan agreed to push for early establishment of a foundation aimed at helping former Korean sex slaves before and during World War II in a working-level talks in Tokyo, Tuesday.
It was the first dialogue between the Asian neighbors concerning their agreement on Dec. 28 to "finally and irrevocably" settle the issue of "comfort women" forced into sexual servitude for Japanese troops.
Chung Byung-won, the director-general at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Northeast Asian Affairs Bureau, led the Seoul delegation.
The Japanese side was headed by Kimihiro Ishikane, director-general of the Japanese foreign ministry's Asian and Oceania Affairs Bureau.
"We explained to the Japanese side that we are carrying out an internal review of various aspects regarding the establishment of the foundation," Chung said after the meeting.
"In line with the Dec. 28 deal, We agreed to carry out to restore the victims' honor and heal their wounds as soon as possible."
Diplomatic sources speculated that the delegates may have discussed a possible second summit between President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, D.C., scheduled from March 31 to April 1.
The two leaders had their first one-on-one meeting in Seoul on Nov. 2.
They then agreed to spur negotiations on wartime sexual slavery for an early breakthrough.
Despite the agreement, Seoul and Tokyo have still failed to make a breakthrough in their decades-long dispute because they remain apart in interpreting the provision of compensation for the former sex slaves.
Tokyo insists on removing a statue of a girl situated across the street from the Japanese Embassy in Seoul.
The statue symbolizes the victims of Japan's state-perpetrated sex crimes. Japan claims the statue's removal will be a precondition for the country contributing 1 billion yen ($8.9 million) to set up a foundation to help the dwindling number of surviving victims in Korea
Seoul maintains the view that the government cannot meddle in the issues involving the statute, saying it was set up by civilians.
The agreement also has drawn a backlash from surviving victims and their advocates, who claim the government did not adequately consult with them before striking the deal.
Seoul has remained low-key about the comfort women in line with the two nations agreeing to refrain from accusing each other over sex slavery issues.
However, Japanese government officials have been making disparaging statements about Japan's responsibility for the sex slavery, according to the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination.
Tokyo also denied coercion of wartime sex slaves in a report submitted to the U.N. in February.
The U.N. Human Rights Committee assessed that Japan was not sufficiently carrying out its recommendations concerning the "comfort women," according to Tokyo's Kyodo News Agency, Tuesday.
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