ID :
358705
Mon, 03/02/2015 - 02:36
Auther :

Park urges Japan to quickly restore honor of S. Korean sex slaves

SEOUL, March 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Park Geun-hye pressed Japan on Sunday to quickly address the issue of former South Korean sex slaves for Japan's World War II soldiers, saying time is running short for the elderly victims seeking restoration of honor. The issue has gained urgency as the number of victims still alive has grown small. In 2007, more than 120 South Korean victims were alive, but the number has since dropped to 53, with their average age standing at 90. "There is little time left to restore their honor," Park said in an address marking Korea's 1919 nationwide uprising against Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule. Park also lashed out at Japan's repeated attempts to distort history textbooks, saying Tokyo's moves hurt its relations with Seoul. Critics have accused Japan of glorifying its militaristic past and glossing over its wartime atrocities. Japan ruled the Korean Peninsula as a colony from 1910-45 and controlled much of China in the early part of the 20th century. Park urged Japan to muster up the courage to face up to history as Germany did for its neighbors so that Seoul and Tokyo can become partners for the future. Relations between South Korea and Japan have been at one of their worst points in recent years due to Tokyo's refusal to address the sexual slavery issue and its repeated claims to South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo. Park also used Sunday's speech to propose that South and North Korea quickly hold talks to stage reunions of families separated since the 1950-53 Korean War. Millions of Koreans remain separated since the Korean War, which ended in a cease-fire, not a peace treaty. Family reunions are a pressing humanitarian issue on the divided peninsula, as most of the separated family members are in their 70s and 80s, and wish to see their long-lost relatives before they die. The two Koreas last held family reunions in February in 2014. "North Korea should not ignore inter-Korean dialogue anymore," Park said. South Korea has repeatedly called on North Korea to come forward for talks to discuss the reunion of separated families and other issues. Still, North Korea has remained silent on South Korea's offer to hold talks. Instead, the North has threatened to retaliate against South Korea over its planned annual joint military drills with the United States. The North claims the joint military drills are a rehearsal for a nuclear war against it. Park also urged North Korea to abandon its expectations that its nuclear weapons programs can safeguard the country, and to embrace reform and openness that she says could guarantee peace and its stability. North Korea has described its nuclear programs a "treasured sword" against what it called Washington's policy of hostility. Park left for Kuwait later in the day on a nine-day, four-nation trip to the Middle East expected to focus on wide-ranging economic cooperation beyond energy and construction. entropy@yna.co.kr (END)

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