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Park urges Abe to make decision on WWII sex slavery issue

Park urges Abe to make decision on WWII sex slavery issue

Posted November. 14, 2015 20:38,   

한국어

President Park Geun-hye urged Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday to make a decision to resolve the issue of World War II sex slaves for the Japanese military.

In a joint interview with the Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA) ahead of her attendance at the G-20 summit and overseas visits, Park called on Abe to make a decision on the issue to cure the pains of history as agreed upon between the two leaders during their first one-on-one meeting in Seoul on November 2 on the sidelines of the South Korea-China-Japan summit to speed up talks on the sex slavery issue. At the meeting with Abe, Park had urged him to resolve the issue before the end of this year.

"The issue of comfort women does not concern only the two countries, Korea and Japan, but is also related to the universal human rights of women," she said. If not resolved as soon as possible, she added, "It will become a heavy historic burden on the Japanese government, as well as on future generations in Japan."

Asked about the possibility of an inter-Korean summit, Park said, "There is no reason not to hold a summit if a breakthrough comes in solving the North Korean nuclear issue and progress is made in improving the South-North relationship. But it will be possible only when the North comes forward for a proactive and sincere dialogue. What counts most is North Korea`s sincerity and determination to act on its words."

Regarding her administration`s controversial plan to nationalize the authorship of history textbooks, she said, "I believe the important purpose of education is to help students, who will play a major role in the future, gain a proper view of history and grow up with pride and self-esteem as Korean citizens. In particular, history education is like nurturing national spirit, and thus it is very significant in forming a proper view of history and values."

President Park embarks on overseas trips on Saturday to attend the G20 summit, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Plus Three summit and the East Asia Summit. She will visit Turkey, the Philippines and Malaysia, before returning home on November 23. Reportedly, she also plans to meet with the leaders of the United States, China, Japan and Russia at the East Asia Summit to discuss the North Korean nuclear issue.



mhpark@donga.com