| Junichi Ihara, head of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asia and Oceania Affairs Bureau, enters Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul, Wednesday, for the third round of talks on Japan's sexual enslavement of Korean women during World War II. / Yonhap |
By Yi Whan-woo
South Korea and Japan resumed their high-level talks in Seoul Wednesday on Japan's sexual enslavement of Korean women during World War II.
Director General Lee Sang-deok for Northeast Asian affairs at the foreign ministry met his Japanese counterpart Junichi Ihara in their third round of talks since May. They exchanged views on how to resolve the long-standing impasse in relations between the two neighboring countries.
Seoul and Tokyo held the second round of talks in May following their agreement in April to have such a meeting every month. The meeting, however, was suspended in June in the wake of Tokyo's announcement that Japan's landmark apology in 1993 about the wartime sex slavery of Korean women was the result of a political compromise between the two countries.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government said the two countries fine-turned wording of the so-called Kono Statement that acknowledged the victims were forced to work at military brothels during the Pacific War. The statement, named after former Japanese prime minister in 1993, has been a key element of the basis of relations between Seoul and Tokyo. It was written based on the accounts of 16 Korean victims. Historians estimate up to 200,000 women were victimized.
Seoul protested against the conservative Abe government, claiming Tokyo's move was intended to downplay the significance of the apology and justify its war crimes.
The issue of sexual enslavement under Japanese colonial rule has been a major cause of diplomatic tension between the two countries. South Korea has called on Japan to resolve the issue by showing sincerity through a formal apology and compensation to the victims. On other hand, Japan has claimed that all grievances related to its colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula were settled through a 1965 treaty that normalized their bilateral ties.
The May meeting in Seoul marked the first official attempt by the two neighboring countries to tackle the issue. The two sides failed to reach agreement repeatedly since then, including June when they met in Tokyo.
It was initially speculated that Japan would take a set of "humanitarian measures" that Abe's predecessor, Yoshihiko Noda, discussed from 2011 to 2012 with then-President Lee Myung-bak.
Such possible measures included Tokyo's offer of monetary support to the victims, the two leaders' affirmation of bilateral efforts to resolve the issue and a Japanese ambassador's apology.
The foreign ministers of the two countries will attend the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in Myanmar on Aug. 10. It is an annual conference among the 27 countries in the Asia-Pacific, as well as the United States and European Union, to discuss ways to secure peace and security in the region. Analysts have forecasted Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida are likely hold a meeting on the sidelines of the conference.
Korean Language
한일, 오늘 서울서 軍위안부 논의 국장급 협의재개
3번째 협의 개최…구체해법 논의 가능성 주목
한일 양국은 23일 오후 서울에서 일본군 위안부 피해자 문제와 관련한 국장급 협의를 개최한다.
이날 협의에는 우리측에서 이상덕 외교부 동북아시아국장이, 일본에서는 이하라 준이치(伊原純一) 외무성 아시아대양주 국장이 참석한다. 이를 위해 이하라 국장은 이날 오전 방한한다.
이번 협의는 지난 4월과 5월 열렸던 두차례의 국장급 협의 후속 회의다. 양국은 4월부터 매달 국장급 협의를 갖고 군 위안부 문제에 대해 논의키로 했으나 지난달 회의는 일본의 고노(河野)담화 검증 발표 여파로 불발됐다.
정부는 이번 협의에서 일본이 작성 경위 검증을 이유로 고노담화 흔들기를 시도한 것에 대해 강한 유감을 표하면서 군 위안부 피해자들이 납득할 수 있는 방향으로 실질적으로 이 문제를 해결해야 한다고 일본에 재차 요구할 것으로 알려졌다.
일본은 고노담화 계승 입장에는 변함이 없다는 기존 입장을 전달할 것으로 보인다.
특히 이번 회의가 군 위안부 문제를 논의하는 3번째 협의라는 점에서 양국간에 위안부 문제 해결과 관련한 구체적인 해법을 두고 논의가 이뤄질 가능성도 있는 것으로 관측된다.
일본 내에서도 외교 현안이 된 군 위안부 문제를 해결해야 한다는 인식이 적지 않은 상태다. 다만 일본 정부는 군 위안부 문제가 한일 청구권협정으로 해결됐다는 공식 입장은 견지하고 있다.
양국 국장들은 별도 협의 시간을 통해 위안부 문제 외 다른 현안도 논의할 예정이다.
이 자리에서는 내달 미얀마에서 열리는 아세안지역안보포럼(ARF)을 계기로 한일 외무장관 회담을 개최하는 방안에 대해서도 의견 교환이 있을 것으로 예상된다. (연합뉴스)