S. Korean lawmakers adopt two anti-Japan resolutions

A South Korean parliamentary committee on Friday adopted resolutions denouncing Japan's review of its apology over sexual slavery during World War II and efforts to expand its military role.

Japan announced last month that the wording of the so-called Kono statement had been coordinated between Seoul and Tokyo. The 1993 statement has been deemed an official apology for Japan's coercion of Asian, mostly Korean and Chinese, women into sexual slavery for Japanese soldiers.

On Tuesday, Tokyo adopted a new interpretation of its constitution to exercise the right to collective self-defense, empowering Japan to fight alongside an ally even if the country itself is not attacked.  

The recent announcements have drawn strong resentment from Seoul and Beijing as they indicate a major nationalist shift in Japan's apologetic post-war stance.

"(We) express deep concerns and strong regret over Japan's announcement on its review of the Kono statement, which is aimed at disparaging the spirit of the statement," read one of the resolutions adopted by the special parliamentary committee on Northeast Asia history affairs.

"The (Prime Minister Shinzo) Abe administration dismantled the basic trust by displaying a twofold attitude of repeatedly vowing not to rewrite the Kono statement while attempting to nullify it behind our back," according to the resolution.

Japan should stop such attempts immediately and admit to, apologize and compensate victims of its wartime sexual enslavement, the resolution also read, adding that bilateral South Korea-Japan relations may be severely affected by the recent announcement.

In the other resolution dealing with the collective self-defense right, the committee expressed "deep concerns and strong regret" over what it called "the Abe administration's repeated provocations explicitly revealing an ambition to become a military power."

"We clearly express no tolerance to Japan's exercise of the collective self-defense right," the resolution said, calling on the South Korean government to firmly oppose and protest the Japanese decision.

"(The government) should make it clear that concerning issues that affect our country's security and interest, Japan's self-defense forces cannot at any rate enter onto the Korean Peninsula without consent from our government," it added.

The resolutions are expected to be submitted to the parliament's general meeting for further endorsement. (Yonhap)