US envoy backs Korea on sex slavery issue

U.S. Ambassador to Korea Sung Kim speaks during a forum hosted by the Kwanhun Club, a fraternity of senior journalists, at the Korea Press Foundation in Seoul, Thursday. / Korea Times photo by Hong In-kee

By Chung Min-uck

U.S. Ambassador to Korea Sung Kim urged Japan to properly address the sexual enslavement of Korean women during World War II, Thursday, describing it as "a grave violation of human rights."

Kim was attending a forum hosted by the Kwanhun Club, a senior journalists' association, where he was asked about his thoughts on Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se's tough criticism of Tokyo on the controversial issue the previous day at a U.N. meeting in Geneva.

To this, Kim answered "Yes, I agree. The comfort women issue, or the sex slavery issue, is a grave human rights violation."

Expressing his understanding of the pains that the surviving comfort women had to endure, he said, "We very much hope that the Japanese leadership addresses this important issue in a way that eases the pain of the victims."

The U.S. envoy said the worsening Seoul-Tokyo relations "are not only bad for the two countries but harm the U.S.'s interests and the peace and stability of the whole region."

He added that Washington can "encourage the leaderships of the two countries to address the issue in a way that satisfies concerns and eases pain," but refuses a "mediating role" in drawing the two countries closer.

"We very much hope that we can see some positive momentum in relations between South Korea and Japan," he added.

Tokyo, seen via provocative comments made by high-ranking officials, is attempting to re-examine a 1993 statement where Japan publicly acknowledged and apologized for the wartime sex slave issue.

The move is perceived by critics around the world as Japan seeking to slowly flex its military muscle, currently held in check by its post-war Pacifist Constitution.

Euphemistically called "comfort women," up to 200,000 mostly Koreans, were forced to serve as sex slaves for imperial Japanese soldiers during World War II.

Korea was colonized by Japan from 1910 to 1945.

Meanwhile, Yun, delivered a strong message to Japan on the issue in his speech at the U.N. Human Rights Council, Wednesday.

He not only clarified the nature of incident as wartime victims being "drafted by Japanese imperial armed forces," but also said Japan has shown an attitude of "affronting humanity and disregarding the historical truth" and "challenging recommendations to Japan by U.N. mechanisms" by not repenting for its past behavior.

Some right-wing politicians in Japan previously argued there was no evidence that sex slave victims were coerced to serve Japanese soldiers.

Site Map E-paper Subscribe Register LogIn
Site Map E-paper Subscribe Register LogIn