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U.S. officials express support for South Korea, Japan 'comfort women' deal

Tokyo had issued a formal apology and agreed to pay $8.3 million for a fund to support the victims.

By Elizabeth Shim
National Security Advisor Susan Rice said Washington congratulates the governments of Japan and South Korea on reaching an agreement on settling the "comfort women" issue. UPI/Mark Garten/HO
National Security Advisor Susan Rice said Washington congratulates the governments of Japan and South Korea on reaching an agreement on settling the "comfort women" issue. UPI/Mark Garten/HO | License Photo

SEOUL, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- The United States said South Korea and Japan had reached a landmark agreement regarding the "comfort women," sex slaves forced to serve in Japanese military brothels during World War II. But a pro-North Korea media outlet in Japan condemned the deal.

National Security Advisor Susan Rice said Washington "congratulates the governments of Japan and [South Korea] on reaching an agreement, which they have made clear 'finally and irreversibly' addresses the tragic treatment of 'comfort women' during World War II," Yonhap reported.

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In a separate statement Secretary of State John Kerry said the agreement would "promote healing and help to improve relations" between Tokyo and Seoul -- two key U.S. allies in the region.

The United Nations Secretary-General also said that he hoped the deal would contribute to improved bilateral relations.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon "stressed the importance of the countries in Northeast Asia to build a future-oriented relationship, based on the recognition of history," a press release from the U.N. office stated.

On Monday Tokyo had issued a formal apology and agreed to pay $8.3 million for a fund that would go toward supporting the victims.

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Pyongyang did not issue an official statement regarding the agreement, but the Choson Sinbo, the official mouthpiece of the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, North Korea's de facto embassy, issued a statement condemning the deal.

An editorial in the Choson Sinbo stated comfort women in North and South Korea are asking for "rehabilitation of their downtrodden honor" and slammed Seoul for not requesting a proper apology and resolving the issue in a "humiliating" manner.

"The South Korea puppets must put an end to selling out its own people in an act of subservience to Japan," the statement read.

In November North Korea had said the issue of "comfort women" is not exclusive to South Korea, and Pyongyang must be included in the talks between Seoul and Tokyo.

In May North Korean participants at a conference in China had stated Imperial Japan had retained three military brothels in different regions of North Korea that predate the earliest known comfort station, established in Shanghai in 1932.

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