S. Korea sets up task force on historical issues with Japan

SEOUL - South Korea's foreign ministry has set up a task force to cope with common historical issues with Japan ahead of the bilateral general-level talks over the wartime sex slaves to be held later this month, local media reported on Monday.

The three-member task force, which is under the ministry's Northeast Asian affairs bureau, will conduct in-depth and systematic research on Tokyo's wartime sexual enslavement of Korean women and will assist the existing office specially dealing with Japanese issues, Yonhap news agency quoted a ministry official as saying.

Japan's relations with South Korea are at one of the worst levels of the post-war era due to their territorial disputes and Japan's erroneous understanding of wartime history such as the " comfort women" and history textbook issues.

Yonhap analyzed that the ministry's new move was to enhance the level of previous office and entitle it new responsibilities considering the strained bilateral ties.

South Korea's foreign ministry last Friday condemned Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for sending an offering to the notorious Yasukuni Shrine, demanding Japanese politicians to confess their country's wartime crimes.

"Japanese politicians should be aware that only when they renounce historical revisionist moves and demonstrate genuine remorse through action, will the relations between South Korea and Japan move stably forward as wished by the peoples of the two countries," it said in a statement.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye on Friday also urged Japan to face up to the history, changing its erroneous stance on historical issues, especially on the sex slave issues, and showing its wisdom and determination for a new future with South Korea.