South Korea, Japan strike deal on 'comfort women'

South Korea and Japan reached agreement Monday on their dispute over wartime sex slaves that has soured relations for decades, as Tokyo's leader hailed a "new era" in ties with Seoul. Japan offered a "heartfelt apology" and a one-billion yen ($8.3 million) payment to Korean women forced into Japanese military brothels during World War II. Now the two countries, both close US allies, "will welcome a new era", Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters in Tokyo after speaking by phone with South Korean President Park Geun-Hye.
The fate of the 46 surviving South Korean "comfort women" is a hugely emotional issue in South Korea, and a source of much of the distrust that has marred relations with its former colonial ruler Japan for decades. The deal would be "final and irreversible" if Japan fulfils its responsibilities, South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-Se said after talks in Seoul with his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida.