By Chung Min-uck
Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se will take the issue of Japan's wartime sex slavery directly to the United Nations to press Tokyo on its latest moves to deny responsibility for one of the most heinous crimes it committed against humanity.
The government made a last-minute decision to have Yun attend the 25th regular session of the U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva, Switzerland. Yun left for a three-day trip Tuesday.
This is the first time since 2006 that Seoul's top diplomat will attend the UNHRC session, and will also mark the first time for a South Korean foreign minister to make a speech there on the issue of women who suffered sexual enslavement by the Japanese imperial army.
"Our government thinks gravely of the comfort women problem with Japan and the issue was dealt with in a straightforward manner in President Park Geun-hye's March 1 Independence Movement Day message," said a government official. "In accordance, the foreign minister is expected to raise the matter in the international arena."
In her address marking Korea's 1919 nationwide uprising against Japan's colonial rule (1910-45), Saturday, President Park urged Japan to stop denying its wrongful past and face up to history.
Insiders say Yun also plans to call for Japan's swift resolution of the wartime so-called comfort women issue, including Tokyo admitting its past atrocities and making financial compensation to the sex slave victims.
Factoring in its relations with Japan, Seoul had held back on a plan to let the foreign minister attend the UNHRC session and address the sensitive issue.
However, according to insiders, the Japanese government's unrepentant attitude, even after President Park called for better bilateral ties in her latest remarks by Japan facing up to history, pushed Seoul to reverse its position.
Sources say top diplomats from over 50 countries, along with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, will attend the UNHRC session.
Tokyo has snubbed Seoul's repeated calls for a resolution of the grievances of the victims through compensation and a sincere apology.
Recently, Japan's Senior Vice Minister of Education Yoshitaka Sakurada said that issue of sexual slavery was a fabrication and called for a re-examination of supporting testimony.
The remarks are in line with Japanese government's plan to re-examine a 1993 statement that offered apologies to wartime sex slaves.
Historians say up to 200,000 women, mostly Koreans, were coerced into sexual slavery for Japanese soldiers. Of the 237 Korean women who have come forward as former sex slaves, only 55 are still alive.
Meanwhile, Yun also plans to give an assessment of the recent report by the U.N. Committee of Inquiry (COI) on North Korea's human rights situation, in his speech, according to the foreign ministry.
The UNCOI last month released its final report and plans to officially submit it to the U.N. Council.
The panel states in the report that the Stalinist country has committed "organized, extensive and grave crimes against humanity," recommending the U.N. to refer the case to the International Criminal Court.
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| Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se |
The government made a last-minute decision to have Yun attend the 25th regular session of the U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva, Switzerland. Yun left for a three-day trip Tuesday.
This is the first time since 2006 that Seoul's top diplomat will attend the UNHRC session, and will also mark the first time for a South Korean foreign minister to make a speech there on the issue of women who suffered sexual enslavement by the Japanese imperial army.
"Our government thinks gravely of the comfort women problem with Japan and the issue was dealt with in a straightforward manner in President Park Geun-hye's March 1 Independence Movement Day message," said a government official. "In accordance, the foreign minister is expected to raise the matter in the international arena."
In her address marking Korea's 1919 nationwide uprising against Japan's colonial rule (1910-45), Saturday, President Park urged Japan to stop denying its wrongful past and face up to history.
Insiders say Yun also plans to call for Japan's swift resolution of the wartime so-called comfort women issue, including Tokyo admitting its past atrocities and making financial compensation to the sex slave victims.
Factoring in its relations with Japan, Seoul had held back on a plan to let the foreign minister attend the UNHRC session and address the sensitive issue.
However, according to insiders, the Japanese government's unrepentant attitude, even after President Park called for better bilateral ties in her latest remarks by Japan facing up to history, pushed Seoul to reverse its position.
Sources say top diplomats from over 50 countries, along with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, will attend the UNHRC session.
Tokyo has snubbed Seoul's repeated calls for a resolution of the grievances of the victims through compensation and a sincere apology.
Recently, Japan's Senior Vice Minister of Education Yoshitaka Sakurada said that issue of sexual slavery was a fabrication and called for a re-examination of supporting testimony.
The remarks are in line with Japanese government's plan to re-examine a 1993 statement that offered apologies to wartime sex slaves.
Historians say up to 200,000 women, mostly Koreans, were coerced into sexual slavery for Japanese soldiers. Of the 237 Korean women who have come forward as former sex slaves, only 55 are still alive.
Meanwhile, Yun also plans to give an assessment of the recent report by the U.N. Committee of Inquiry (COI) on North Korea's human rights situation, in his speech, according to the foreign ministry.
The UNCOI last month released its final report and plans to officially submit it to the U.N. Council.
The panel states in the report that the Stalinist country has committed "organized, extensive and grave crimes against humanity," recommending the U.N. to refer the case to the International Criminal Court.
