Abe says he will visit Pyeongchang
SEOUL: South Korea yesterday welcomed Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s decision to attend the opening ceremony of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics next month, after reports he might not participate due to a row over “comfort women”.
Tokyo had reacted sharply to Seoul’s call on Japan earlier this month to apologise anew to Korean women who were forced to work in Japan’s wartime military brothels and their families despite the two countries having said a 2015 deal would settle the issue “finally and irreversibly”.
The South Korean move prompted debate within the Japanese government about whether Mr Abe should attend the opening ceremony in Pyeongchang on Feb 9, to which the South Korean government had invited him via its foreign minister.
Yesterday morning, Mr Abe told reporters in Tokyo that he plans to attend the ceremony after all, citing the Olympics Japan will host in the capital in the summer of 2020.
An official at the office of President Moon Jae-in reacted by saying Seoul “welcomes” Mr Abe’s plan and will work closely with the Japanese government to make his South Korea visit successful.
The official also said consultations over Mr Abe’s visit have begun between the two countries via the South Korean embassy in Tokyo. Under the December 2015 deal, Japan apologised and expressed remorse to former comfort women for their suffering and provided ¥1 billion to a foundation to support surviving victims.
South Korea in return agreed to “make efforts” to remove a statue of a girl symbolising comfort women from near the Japanese Embassy in Seoul.