UN chief denies Japan’s claim

The office of U.N. Secretary-General Antonia Guterres on Sunday rejected Japan’s claim that he expressed support for a 2015 deal reached between Seoul and Tokyo over the issue of Japan’s wartime sexual slavery.

According to press reports, Japan’s Foreign Ministry made the claim that Guterres backed the deal when he met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Italy on Saturday.

But Guterres’ spokesman said the U.N. chief never specifically expressed support for the deal.