SEOUL, South Korea — More than 70 years after the end of World War II, South Korea and Japan reached a landmark agreement on Monday to resolve their dispute over Korean women who were forced to serve as sex slaves for Japan’s Imperial Army. 
 
 The agreement, in which Japan made an apology and promised an $8.3 million payment that would provide care for the women, was intended to remove one of the most intractable logjams in relations between South Korea and Japan, both crucial allies to the United States. The so-called comfort women have been the most painful legacy of Japan’s colonial rule of Korea, which lasted from 1910 until Japan’s defeat in 1945. 
 
 The Japanese and South Korean foreign ministers, announcing the agreement in Seoul, said each side considered it a “final and irreversible resolution” of the issue. 
 
 The apology and the payment, which, unlike a previous fund, will come directly from the Japanese government, represent a compromise for Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, who has often been reluctant to offer contrition for his country’s militarist past. ||||| Image copyright AFP Image caption Activists for comfort women erected a statue of a girl which they call a 'peace monument' outside the Japanese embassy in Seoul in 2011 
 
 Japan and South Korea have agreed to settle the issue of "comfort women" forced to work in Japanese brothels during World War Two, in their first such deal since 1965. 
 
 Japan has apologised and will pay 1bn yen ($8.3m, £5.6m) - the amount South Korea asked for - to fund victims. 
 
 The issue has been the key cause for strained ties. South Korea has demanded stronger apologies and compensation. 
 
 Only 46 former "comfort women" are still alive in South Korea. 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Lee Ok Seon: "I was forced to have sex with many men each day" 
 
 The announcement came after Japan's Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida met his counterpart Yun Byung-se in Seoul, following moves to speed up talks. 
 
 Later Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe phoned South Korean President Park Geun-hye to repeat an apology already offered by Mr Kishida. 
 
 "Japan and South Korea are now entering a new era," Mr Abe told reporters afterwards. "We should not drag this problem into the next generation." 
 
 Ms Park issued a separate statement, saying a deal had been urgently needed - given the advanced age of most of the victims. 
 
 "Nine died this year alone," she said. "I hope the mental pains of the elderly comfort women will be eased." 
 
 It is estimated that up to 200,000 women were forced to be sex slaves for Japanese soldiers during WW2, many of them Korean. Other women came from China, the Philippines, Indonesia and Taiwan. 
 
 Japan-South Korea's 'comfort women' deal 
 
 Image copyright AFP Image caption South Korean activists for comfort women have been holding weekly demonstrations outside the Japanese embassy in Seoul 
 
 Japan will give 1bn yen to a fund for the elderly comfort women, which the South Korean government will administer 
 
 The money also comes with an apology by Japan's prime minister and the acceptance of "deep responsibility" for the issue 
 
 South Korea says it will consider the matter resolved "finally and irreversibly" if Japan fulfils its promises 
 
 South Korea will also look into removing a statue symbolising comfort women, which activists erected outside the Japanese embassy in Seoul in 2011 
 
 Both sides have agreed to refrain from criticising each other on this issue in the international community 
 
 Read more: 'Comfort women' - a painful legacy 
 
 After the meeting in Seoul, Mr Kishida called the agreement "epoch-making". 
 
 "Prime Minister Abe expresses anew his most sincere apologies and remorse to all the women who underwent immeasurable and painful experiences and suffered incurable physical and psychological wounds as comfort women," Mr Kishida told reporters. 
 
 The wording of the deal does not explicitly state that the "comfort women" will receive direct compensation, but states that the fund will provide "support" and bankroll "projects for recovering the honour and dignity and healing the psychological wounds". 
 
 Some former "comfort women", such as Lee Yong-soo, have taken issue with this. 
 
 The 88-year-old told the BBC: "I wonder whether the talks took place with the victims really in mind. We're not after the money. If the Japanese committed their sins, they should offer direct official government compensation." 
 
 Image copyright AFP Image caption Lee Yong-soo (centre) has taken part in protests outside the Japanese embassy in Seoul 
 
 Another former "comfort woman", 88-year-old Yoo Hee-nam, said: "If I look back, we've lived a life deprived of our basic rights as human beings. So I can't be fully satisfied. 
 
 "But we've been waiting all this time for the South Korean government to resolve the issue legally. As the government worked hard to settle deal before the turn of the year, I'd like to follow the government's lead." 
 
 In Japan journalist Nobuo Ikeda reflected the view of many on Twitter that the country had lost out, although others thought the deal could have been worse for Mr Abe. 
 
 "Japan pays 1 billion yen and our PM apologises but South Korea will 'consult about the girl's statue' - that's not a diplomatic negotiation," Mr Ikeda tweeted. 
 
 Kevin Kim, BBC News, Seoul 
 
 Image copyright AP Image caption Japan's PM Shinzo Abe (L) and South Korea's Park Geun-hye (R) agreed in November to accelerate talks on the issue 
 
 With only days left until the end of the year, the timing of the talks was highly symbolic and the expectations for results were high. 
 
 Earlier in the year, the South Korean president called for a resolution to the "comfort women" dispute by the year's end, marking the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations. 
 
 However, few believed that a quick breakthrough could be reached on a thorny issue that has strained the region for decades and some critics say the talks have been rushed to preserve the symbolism. 
 
 It's unclear if Japan's admission of responsibility was legal or just humanitarian, and Tokyo's offer of 1bn yen has been described as a measure to help the women, not as direct government compensation. 
 
 The dozens of surviving women have asked for a formal apology specifically addressed to themselves and direct compensation. They say past expressions of regret have been only halfway and insincere. 
 
 Japan revisionists deny WW2 sex slave atrocities 
 
 Negotiators appear to have overcome several obstacles including disagreements over the wording of the agreement and the amount of compensation. Tokyo was reportedly initially considering paying only around 100 million yen. 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Japan's Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida spoke of the Japanese prime minister's ''sincere apologies and remorse'' 
 
 Japan has repeatedly apologised or acknowledged its responsibility for wartime sex slaves, most notably in a 1993 statement by the then-chief cabinet secretary Yohei Kono. 
 
 It had also resisted giving greater compensation, arguing that the dispute was settled in 1965 when diplomatic ties were normalised between the two countries and more than $800m in economic aid and loans was given to South Korea. 
 
 A private fund was also set up in 1995 for the victims and lasted for a decade, but money came from donations and not from the Japanese government. ||||| SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea and Japan reached a landmark agreement on Monday to resolve the issue of “comfort women”, as those who were forced to work in Japan’s wartime brothels were euphemistically known, an issue that has long plagued ties between the neighbors. 
 
 Former South Korean "comfort women" watch a news report as they wait for the result of meeting between foreign ministers of South Korea and Japan at the "House of Sharing," a special shelter for former "comfort women", in Gwangju, South Korea, December 28, 2015. REUTERS/Hong Ki-won/Yonhap 
 
 The foreign ministers of the two countries said after a meeting in Seoul that the “comfort women” issue would be “finally and irreversibly resolved” if all conditions were met. 
 
 South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged to take the opportunity to boost bilateral ties following the agreement, in which Japan made an apology and promised about one billion yen ($8.3 million) for a fund to help former “comfort women.” 
 
 The accord was welcomed by the United States, which has been keen for improved relations between its two major Asian allies in the face of an increasingly assertive China and an unpredictable North Korea. 
 
 Strains between Tokyo and Seoul have prevented the two countries from signing an agreement to share sensitive military information, so a year ago they signed a three-way pact under which Seoul routes its information to the United States, which then passes it on to Japan, and vice versa. 
 
 Park “hoped that since the two governments worked through a difficult process to reach this agreement, they can cooperate closely to start building trust and open a new relationship,” her office quoted her as saying to Abe. 
 
 Abe told reporters in Tokyo that Japan has apologized and expressed its remorse, but added future Japanese generations should not have to keep on doing so. 
 
 “We should never allow this problem to drag on into the next generation,” he said, echoing remarks he made marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War Two on August 15. “From now on, Japan and South Korea will enter a new era.” 
 
 Japan was “painfully aware of its responsibilities” for the affront to the women’s honor and dignity, Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida told a news conference in Seoul with his South Korean counterpart. 
 
 “Prime Minister Abe expresses anew his most sincere apologies and remorse to all the women who underwent immeasurable and painful experiences.” 
 
 Calling the agreement “epoch-making”, Kishida told reporters later: “I believe this has set up a stage for advancement of security cooperation between Japan and South Korea, as well as among Japan, the United States and South Korea”. 
 
 White House national security adviser Susan Rice said the United States supported the agreement and its full implementation. 
 
 “This comprehensive resolution is an important gesture of healing and reconciliation,” she said in a statement. 
 
 Japan's Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida (L) is greeted by South Korea's President Park Geun-hye at the Presidential Blue House in Seoul, South Korea, December 28, 2015. REUTERS/Baek Seung-ryol/Yonhap 
 
 A senior U.S. Department of State official said the agreement was particularly important given the threat posed by North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs. 
 
 “The world simply can’t afford for Japan, Korea and the U.S. to operate at anything less than full capacity in terms of our security cooperation,” said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity. 
 
 “FINALLY AND IRREVERSIBLY” 
 
 Japan will work with South Korea to run a program to restore the honor and dignity of former “comfort women,” Kishida said. 
 
 United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon - a former South Korean foreign minister - welcomed the agreement and said in a statement he hoped it would “contribute to improving the bilateral relationship between the two countries.” 
 
 Scholars continue to debate the number of women exploited. Activists in South Korea say there may have been as many as 200,000 Korean victims, only a few of whom came forward. 
 
 Only 46 survivors remain of the 238 women in South Korea who came forward, and their average age is 89. 
 
 Slideshow (8 Images) 
 
 South Korea’s Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se said he valued Japan’s efforts. 
 
 “On the premise that the steps pledged by the Japanese government are earnestly carried out, the Korean government confirms that the matter (of comfort women) is finally and irreversibly resolved,” Yun told the news conference. 
 
 The two countries have been trying for decades to overcome divisions over the “comfort women” issue, but past efforts have not succeeded. 
 
 Japan had been insisting South Korea state its intention to lay the issue to rest this time, since many officials resent what they see as South Korea’s use of the “comfort women” issue for domestic political gain despite past steps taken by Tokyo. 
 
 South Korea, for its part, wanted a clearer statement by Japan of its responsibility for the women’s suffering. 
 
 Former Japanese diplomat Kunihiko Miyake said the timing was right for the deal, since Abe wanted to resolve the dispute this year, the 70th anniversary of World War Two’s end, and Park doubtless felt it was better to do so well ahead of a parliamentary election set for next year. 
 
 A powerful symbol of success would be the fate of a statue symbolizing “comfort women” that has been put up in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul and has been an irritant to Tokyo. 
 
 Although South Korea did not agree to remove the statue, Yun said Seoul recognizes Japan’s concerns and will hold discussions with the group that erected it to address the issue. 
 
 The two countries have been pushing to improve relations since Abe met Park last month. That meeting took place partly under pressure from Washington.
– South Korea and Japan say they've reached a deal to resolve a disturbing legacy of World War II—the issue of sex slaves, or "comfort women," forced to work in Japanese brothels for soldiers. An estimated 200,000 women, many of them Korean, were forced to take part, though only 46 remain alive today in South Korea, reports the BBC. Under the deal, Japan will pay $8.3 million to a fund to help victims, though the New York Times says the agreement has vague wording that doesn't "clarify whether the responsibility that the Japanese government acknowledged was legal or moral." Still, the countries say that if Japan does what it has promised, the issue will be "finally and irreversibly resolved." But the newspaper quotes one survivor who says it does not go far enough. "I will ignore it completely,” says 88-year-old Lee Yong-soo, who wants Japan to unequivocally admit legal responsibility. The deal doesn't go that far, though it comes with an apology from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe: He "expresses anew his most sincere apologies and remorse to all the women who underwent immeasurable and painful experiences and suffered incurable physical and psychological wounds as comfort women," says Japan's foreign minister. South Korea says it will now consider removing a statue memorializing victims erected by activists outside the Japanese embassy in Seoul in 2011. The pact is expected to clear the way for stronger military relations between the two nations, a development that Reuters notes will be welcomed by the US because of an increasingly aggressive China.