The Korea Herald

피터빈트

Korea briefs China on Japan deal on wartime sex slaves

By KH디지털2

Published : Jan. 4, 2016 - 18:37

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South Korea briefed China last week on a landmark deal with Japan aimed at resolving the long-running grievances of Korean victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery, a diplomatic source said Monday.

The briefing came at the request of the Chinese side, the source said on the condition of anonymity to discuss diplomatic matters.

Under the deal with South Korea announced on Dec. 28, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe apologized to the Korean victims and Tokyo agreed to provide 1 billion yen (US$8.3 million) to a fund for the victims.

"We briefed the Chinese side on the comfort women deal at the request of the Chinese side," the South Korean diplomatic source said, using a euphemism for the victims who were forcibly mobilized at front-line Japanese military brothels during World War II.

The deal paved the way for Seoul and Tokyo to solve one of their thorniest issues.

It was also in line with diplomatic efforts by U.S. President Barack Obama to form a united front with South Korea and Japan against China's increasingly assertive behaviors and North Korea's defiant pursuit of missiles and nuclear weapons.

While the deal was welcomed in Washington, China's state-run media cast a wary eye on the deal, calling it insincere.

According to historians, up to 200,000 women, mostly from Korea but also China and other parts of Asia, were coerced into sexual servitude at front-line Japanese brothels during the war. (Yonhap)