S. Korea says use of ‘comfort women’ a crime against humanity
South Korean President Moon Jae-in described Japan’s wartime use of «comfort women» as «crimes against humanity» on Thursday in some of his strongest comments yet, sparking an immediate protest from his key ally in containing North Korea.
Moon said during a speech marking a national holiday commemorating Korean resistance to Japanese occupation — his first since taking office last year — that Japan was in no position to declare the emotionally charged issue settled.
«As the perpetrator, the Japanese government shouldn’t say ‘it’s over’,» Moon said. «Wartime crimes against humanity can’t be swept under the rug by saying ‘it’s over’.»
His comments drew an immediate rebuke from Tokyo. Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga described Moon’s comments as «extremely regrettable.»
Suga, speaking at a regular briefing, also urged cooperation between South Korea and Japan to tackle the threat posed by North Korea’s missile and nuclear programs.
Japan and South Korea share a bitter history that includes Japan’s 1910-45 colonization of the peninsula and the use of «comfort women», Japan’s euphemism for women — many of them Korean — forced to work in its wartime brothels.
