[Yonhap Photo]
SEOUL, Jan. 09 (Aju News) -- South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha ruled out negotiations with Japan on a deal forged by Seoul and Tokyo in 2015 to end a diplomatic row over Japan's wartime sex slavery.
But Kang said South Korea would use its own money to replace Japan's donation of one billion yen ($8.7 million) to a foundation dedicated to supporting "comfort women" sexually enslaved by Japan's imperial army during World War II.
She said the 2015 accord was not a true solution because it did not properly reflect the opinions of "comfort women". "However, our government will not ask for renegotiations with Japan because it is an undeniable fact that the 2015 deal was a formal one between the two countries."
The minister urged Japan to make efforts to recover the honor and dignity of the victims along with a "voluntary and genuine" apology.
Last week, Moon hosted a presidential lunch with eight comfort women saying the 2015 deal ran counter to "the principle of truth and justice" and failed to reflect demands or wishes from the victims of Japan's wartime atrocities.
For decades, Seoul and Tokyo have been locked in a lingering row over comfort women, school textbooks and other emotional issues related to Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule over the Korean peninsula. Historians estimate that up to 200,000 women were forced to work in front-line brothels for Japanese troops.
Under the 2015 deal, Tokyo wants Seoul to tear down the "comfort woman" statues erected by civic groups. Seoul has insisted it cannot stop a civic campaign.
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