SEOUL — South Korea Monday began an official review of a controversial agreement with Japan over Second World War sex slaves, formally reopening an issue that still strains ties between the US allies. Mainstream historians say up to 200,000 women, mostly from Korea but also other parts of Asia including China, were forced to work in Japanese military brothels during World War II. The plight of the so-called “comfort women” is a hugely emotional issue that has marred relations between the Asian neighbors for decades. For many South Koreans it epitomizes the abuses of Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule over the Korean peninsula. South Korea and Japan reached a “final and irreversible” agreement in December 2015, under which Tokyo offered an apology and ¥1 billion (now $9 million) to open a foundation for the dwindling number of comfort women who are still alive. The deal, reached by the previous Seoul administration of Park Geun-Hye, was condemned by some of the women and South Korean activists, who took issue with Japan’s refusal to accept formal legal responsibility and questioned the sincerity of its apology. A government-appointed task force was launched Monday to investigate the deal, Seoul’s foreign ministry said. New President Moon Jae-In had promised a review on the campaign trail. But the move threatens to complicate relations with Tokyo, even as the two countries, both of them security allies of Washington, face threats from nuclear-armed North Korea. Japan maintains that the two countries must abide by the agreement. — AFP
