Minister Yun Byung-se of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (right) and his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida present at a joint press conference held on Dec. 28 at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul.
Korea and Japan have reached an agreement over “comfort women” issues.
Minister Yun Byung-se of Korea’s Foreign Affairs ministry and Minister Fumio Kishida of the Foreign Affairs ministry of Japan met in Seoul on Dec. 28 and reached a deal to settle issues over the comfort women who were abused during the second World War. The Japanese government admitted the nation’s responsibility for the matter and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made an apology expressing his country’s remorse.
The two countries agreed not to criticize the other party over the matter in the international community from now on. Korea, however, also stated that it will allow Japan’s financial support for a foundation for the victims “only if the Japanese government fulfills the agreement adequately.”
President Park Geun-hye shakes hand with Minister Fumio Kishida at Cheong Wa Dae on Dec. 28. The minister visited Cheong Wa Dae after the Foreign Affair Ministers’ meeting held earlier that day.
Meanwhile, President Park Geun-hye met Minister Fumio Kishida, who visited Cheong Wa Dae after the Ministers’ meeting on the same day. The president commented on the agreement that she hoped “Korea and Japan would renew the diplomatic relations through the implementation of the agreement.” She expected that the agreement made by the foreign ministers of the two countries would be accepted by both countries, and described it as a meaningful achievement. “Reaching an agreement, as a follow-up measure to the discussion that took place during the summit meeting [between Japan and Korea] on Nov. 2, in this particular year which marks the 50th anniversary of Korea-Japan diplomacy, is especially meaningful,” she said. “To restore the honor and dignity of the victims and to ease their pain, the first and most important thing is that Japan carries out the agreed-upon measures quickly and faithfully.”
President Park also spoke by phone with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. “As a representative of the Japanese government, I express my sincere apology and remorse to every victim, who must have suffered and been deeply hurt by Japan’s action during the war,” said the prime minister. Assuring President Park that the Japanese government would carry out the agreement, he hoped that all of the issues related to the comfort women would be settled with this agreement. President Park said that this agreement is an important opportunity to restore the dignity and honor of the victims and to ease their pain. Mentioning the difficulty of reaching agreement over the issues, President Park expressed her hope that the two countries would cooperate more in the future to build trust and improve their relationship. The two leaders both agreed to expand the partnership not only to resolve the “comfort women” issues but also to improve and develop Korea-Japan relationship.
By Wi Tack-whan, Chang Iou-chung
Korea.net Staff Writers
Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cheong Wa Dae
whan23@korea.kr
