'Comfort women' oppose deal

Six civic groups slam the agreement as 'humiliating' and object to Seoul's promise

South Korean officials are to meet with former wartime sex slaves on Tuesday to seek their support for a landmark deal with Japan, after criticism it does not properly atone for the treatment of women forced into WWII army brothels.

Japan offered a "heartfelt apology" and a one-billion yen ($8.3 million) payment to the surviving Korean women forced into sexual slavery, under the agreement Seoul and Tokyo described "final and irreversible".

The fate of the 46 surviving South Korean "comfort women" - the euphemism by which they are known - is a hugely emotional issue in the South and a source of long-running distrust that has marred relations with Japan for decades.

Officials of both nations hailed the deal as a major breakthrough, but South Korean media and the women themselves gave a mixed reaction, particularly taking issue with Tokyo's refusal to take formal legal responsibility.

Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said on Monday the one-billion-won payment was aimed at "restoring the women's dignity" but was not an official compensation.

"There is a clear difference between just a payment and official compensation paid as a result of a crime," Lee Yong-soo, one of the victims, said Monday. "I will completely ignore the agreement."

South Korean President Park Geun-hye called for "understanding by the public and the victims" about the deal.

The foreign ministry said two vice-ministers would visit two comfort women shelters later on Tuesday to explain the terms and win the victims' support - a step which will be key to securing the approval of the nation.

'Diplomatic collusion'

Six civic groups including those running the shelters have slammed the agreement as "humiliating" and objected to Seoul's promise to refrain from criticizing Japan over the issue in international forums including the United Nations.

"Our longstanding wish was ... clarifying legal responsibility over this crime committed by the Japanese government so that such a tragedy will never happen again," they said in a joint statement.

"The latest agreement appears to be nothing but a diplomatic collusion that betrayed such wishes of the victims."

Up to 200,000 women in Asia, many of them Korean, are estimated to have been systematically forced to provide sex to Japanese soldiers during World War II.

China to 'wait and see' if Japan sincere

Beijing said on Tuesday it would "wait and see" how sincere Japan was after South Korea and Japan reached a landmark deal to resolve the issue of "comfort women".

Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said Japan's history of militarism and aggression had brought deep suffering to China and other Asian countries.

"We have always consistently asked Japan to accurately face up to its history of aggression, learn the lessons of history and take concrete actions to win the trust of its Asian neighbors and the international community," Lu said.

When asked whether China believed Japan was sincere in resolving the issue, Lu said the government would be watching.

"Just like you, as for whether Japan can do it, if its words and actions are consistent from start to finish, we will wait and see."

Reuters - China Daily