South Korea and Japan fail to reach breakthrough on comfort women issue

Posted on : 2015-12-16 18:06 KST Modified on : 2015-12-16 18:06 KST
With both countries holding parliamentary elections next year, progress on touchy issue appears unlikely
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The governments of South Korea and Japan have effectively failed in their effort to resolve the issue of the comfort women before the end of the year.

On Dec. 15, Lee Sang-deok, director of the Northeast Asian Affairs Bureau at South Korea’s Foreign Ministry, met Kimihiro Ishikane, director of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau at Japan’s Foreign Ministry, at the Japanese Foreign Ministry in Tokyo, for the 11th round of director general level talks aimed at finding a solution to the issue of the comfort women.

“Following the summit between the leaders of South Korea and Japan that took place in Seoul in November, we held in-depth deliberations. We agreed to meet again in Seoul as soon as possible to continue our deliberations,” Lee told reporters after the meeting, which lasted for about three hours.

When asked whether the next round of talks would be held within the year, Lee essentially acknowledged that the talks would be put off until next year. “Considering that it‘s already the end of the year, I’m guessing they aren’t likely to be held before the year is over,” he said.

When asked what exactly had been discussed and how much progress had been made, Lee declined to comment.

“We are both working proactively to find a quick breakthrough on the issue of the comfort women, but it’s not simple,” Ishikane told Japanese reporters.

When President Park Geun-hye met Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Seoul on Nov. 2, the two agreed to “accelerate deliberations to reach a breakthrough on the issue of the comfort women as early as possible.

Even after that, Park had been strongly hoping to achieve a breakthrough on this issue before the end of the year, but that has now become basically impossible.

The problem is what is coming on the schedule. In April of 2016, South Korea will be holding elections for the National Assembly; in the summer, Japan will have an election for the House of Councillors.

Since the issue of the comfort woman is a sensitive one that commands strong emotional responses in both countries, it would not be easy for either government to produce a dramatic breakthrough right before the election.

By Gil Yun-hyung, Tokyo correspondent

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