Park, Abe remain apart over sex slavery issue

President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hold their first bilateral summit at Cheong Wa Dae, Monday. They agreed to speed up negotiations to resolve the “comfort women” issue. / Joint Press Corps

Japanese PM agrees to speed up talks on 'comfort women'

President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed Monday to speed up negotiations to resolve the “comfort women” issue on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Korea and Japan.

The agreement, reached at their first summit at Cheong Wa Dae, raises hopes that the two sides will shift gear to conclude negotiations on the thorny issue before the end of this year. However, there is also skepticism that the Abe government will maintain its diplomatic ambiguity on the matter given its stance on disputed historical issues.

Park sat down with Abe after an extended diplomatic freeze due to his unrepentant attitude over the sexual enslavement of Korean women forced to provide sexual services for Japanese troops before and during World War II.

Park has repeatedly demanded that Abe offer a forthright apology and pay restitution to the victims, but Abe has rejected these calls, maintaining that the issue was settled by the 1965 Korea-Japan Normalization Treaty.

“Referring to the comfort women issue as the biggest stumbling block to the bilateral ties, President Park stressed that the issue should be settled as soon as possible in a way acceptable to victims and other Koreans,” Kim Kyou-hyun, the senior presidential secretary for foreign affairs and security, said at a press briefing.

“In that sense, the two heads of state have agreed to speed up negotiations to resolve the issue as soon as possible.”

The Japanese Prime Minister also confirmed the Cheong Wa Dae announcement.

“Bearing in mind that this year marks the 50th anniversary of the normalization of the two countries’ relations, we have agreed to speed up talks for an early settlement of the issue,” Abe told Japanese reporters in Seoul after the summit.

“While both nations are seeking to establish a future-oriented cooperative relationship, we should not leave behind barriers for future generations.”

The first summit, since Abe and Park took office in 2012 and 2013, respectively, lasted for an extended 100 minutes — 10 minutes longer than the initial plan — to concentrate their efforts on the thorny issue.

At the beginning of the summit, Park said, “I hope this summit will produce sincere talks to heal our painful history and serve as a momentum to improve frayed bilateral ties.”

Abe responded by saying that on the back of the advancement of 50 years of bilateral relations, he wants to work together with President Park to build a future-oriented relationship.

Although neither Park’s office nor Abe failed to provide any specific time frame on the sex slavery issue, the two sides appear to have set their sights on resolving it by the end of this year.

“It is worth noting that the two leaders have agreed to swiftly settle the issue, stressing that the two countries’ relations are at a turning point on the 50th anniversary,” said a Cheong Wa Dae official.

In an interview with Japan’s Asahi Shimbun and Mainichi Shimbun last week, Park urged Abe to make a proposal to resolve the comfort women issue this year so that the two sides can move forward and benefit from more positive relations.

“A meeting with Abe should become a turning point that allows for the launching of a new future by overcoming our past history based on a proper historical understanding by both nations,” she said.

In addition, the Korean government wants to resolve the issue as soon as possible because of the advanced age of the victims who are in their 80s and 90s.

In 2007, more than 120 Korean victims were alive, but this number has since dropped to 47, with the average age standing at nearly 90.

The two leaders also agreed to work together for Seoul’s potential participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a U.S.-led free trade initiative that involves 11 other Pacific Rim countries.

The TPP was signed on Oct. 5 and Korea has to get consent from all 12 participants to join the world’s single largest trading bloc, if formed. The TPP members account for 40 percent of the world’s gross domestic product.

Japan, which competes fiercely with Korea in automobiles, electronics and other areas, has reportedly been openly opposing Korea’s participation in the TPP.

“President Park expected cooperation with Japan, should Korea decide to join the TPP,” the presidential secretary said.

“Prime Minister Abe expressed his interest by saying that he is closely watching Korea’s consideration of TPP participation.”

Park and Abe reaffirmed their commitment to cooperation on North Korea’s nuclear weapons program amid lingering security challenges from Pyongyang.

Park’s office said that the two sides agreed to pursue multinational efforts to deal with North Korean issues.

The agreement came one day after a trilateral meeting, Sunday, that included Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang issued a joint declaration seeking a resumption of the long-stalled six-party talks aimed at denuclearizing the North.