South Korea and Japan plan to hold a fresh round of talks on Japan's sexual enslavement of Korean women during World War II in Tokyo on Friday, an issue that has frayed relations between the two historical rivals, Seoul's foreign ministry said.
Lee Sang-deok, director general of the Northeast Asian affairs bureau of the foreign ministry, is poised to meet with his Japanese counterpart, Junichi Ihara, later in the day in their fourth round talks to discuss the sex slavery issue, according to the foreign ministry.
In April, the two countries agreed to hold a series of monthly meetings on the issue of the former sex slaves, but they skipped the meeting in June due to Japan's review of its 1993 apology over the issue before resuming talks in July. A meeting that was supposed to be held in August has been delayed to September.
The main focal point for the meeting is whether Japan is going to unveil specific steps to resolve the sex slavery issue. Seoul has called on Tokyo to unveil substantive measures at this round of talks as it believes discussions alone are not sufficient to resolve the issue.
In a separate session, the two sides are expected to discuss other pending issues, including studying the possibility of holding a foreign ministers' meeting on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, government sources said.
Bilateral relations are at their lowest ebb in recent years due to Japan's attempts to gloss over its wartime atrocities such as sex slavery and its territorial claims to South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo.
Historians estimate that up to 200,000 women, mostly from Korea and China, were coerced into providing sexual services for the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II. Only 54 victims remain alive in South Korea, with their average age standing at 88.
Despite the frayed ties, Seoul and Tokyo have increased contacts through cultural exchanges in recent weeks.
South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se said Tuesday that continued exchanges in non-political areas could help mend ties between Seoul and Tokyo.
But Yun also stressed the need on Thursday to address historical wounds for peace and cooperation in Northeast Asia, calling on Japan to show its sincerity toward dealing with wartime wrongdoings. (Yonhap)