North Korea has certainly, in the past, used detainees to initiate diplomatic exchanges with the United States.
Elise HuJapan is formally apologizing and admitting the state was responsible for the system of comfort stations or brothels for soldiers in which mostly teenage girls were expected to service 60 to 70 men a day. That is from a U.N. report.
Elise HuU.S. has certainly been wanting this to happen since both Japan and Korea are longtime allies of the U.S. and this estranged relationship has prevented better cooperation.
Elise HuAnd that said, this [issues of comfort women] is important for reopening a conversation in both Japan and in Korea and on their respective understandings of history. Policymakers are going to be trumpeting this deal, but you know, as of now, we just don't know whether the women themselves who are actually victims will think this agreement is enough.
Elise HuJapan admitted the Imperial Army ordered the building of these brothels and the trafficking of the women. And now that it's been 70 years, there are only 46 remaining comfort women still alive in South Korea. So also in this deal, Japan is going to pay 1 billion yen - that's about 8 million U.S. dollars - to provide social services and health care to the surviving victims.
Elise HuIn South Korea, there's a lot of folks who are already saying this deal doesn't go far enough. And I had one source say that President Park will, quote, "get lots of love from D.C. for this" but that the money itself for the fund - $8 million - isn't that much and that the deal itself doesn't ensure that future generations will learn from history so not to repeat it.
Elise HuThe first comfort women didn't actually come forward until 1992, and since then, the issue has really been kicked up. Japan issued a 1993 acknowledgement on this. It's called the Kono Agreement. But in recent years, South Korea has been wanting an apology to go much further.
Elise Hu