South Korean, Japanese diplomats still differ on sex slavery deal

Dec. 19 (UPI) -- Hopes to reconcile differences between top diplomats of South Korea and Japan were quashed during talks in Tokyo about Korean sex slaves during World War II.

Although no new agreement was reached during Tuesday's discussion about the controversial deal reached between the two sides in 2015, both foreign ministers agreed to continue deliberations. The 2015 agreement included a formal apology from Japan and $8.3 million from the Japanese government to help victims, but it remains a source of contention between the two countries. In January, Japan recalled two diplomats from Busan, South Korea, after local leaders allowed for the construction of a monument honoring victims near the Japanese consulate.

Japanese troops are believed to have forced some 200,000 Asian women, mostly from Korea and known as "comfort women," into sexual servitude during World War II.

In the the latest round of talks, South Korea's foreign minister Kang Kyung-wha hoped to secure Japanese recognition of a South Korean probe into the 2-year-old agreement.

On Dec. 27, South Korea will unveil the result the five-month review of the agreement, which has been criticized for lacking a victim's consensus and an emphasis on Japanese responsibility for the forced internment.

Before the talks, Japan's foreign minister Taro Kono said the 2015 agreement was "final and irreversible."

South Korean President Moon Jae-in is expected to disclose his administration's position on the 2015 agreement sometime early next year.