韩国不寻求就韩日慰安妇协议重新展开谈判

South Korea will not seek to renegotiate a contentious deal with Japan over Tokyo’s wartime use of sex slaves, the foreign ministry in Seoul said on Tuesday.

韩国外交部周二表示，韩国将不会寻求就韩日在日本战时使用慰安妇问题上达成的一项有争议协议与日本重新进行谈判。

The decision follows months of speculation that South Korea might scrap the 2015 pact under which the nations agreed to “finally and irreversibly” end a dispute over Japan’s use of Korean “comfort women” in military brothels during the second world war.

此前数月，人们一直在猜测韩国可能会撕毁韩日双方2015年达成的协议。根据该协议，两国同意“最终且不可逆转地”结束围绕二战期间日本在军中妓院中使用韩国“慰安妇”产生的争端。

Under the agreement, Japan apologised and paid ¥1bn ($9m) to a foundation in support of the women.

根据该协议，日本进行了道歉并向一个援助韩国慰安妇的基金会支付了10亿日元(合900万美元)。

However, following the inauguration of President Moon Jae-in last year, authorities in Seoul began again reviewing the deal and last week declared it did not sufficiently account for the views and opinions of the surviving victims.

但在文在寅(Moon Jae-in)去年就任韩国总统之后，首尔当局开始重新审议这项协议，并在上周宣称该协议未充分考虑依然健在的受害者的看法和意见。

On Tuesday, Kang Kyung-wha, South Korea’s foreign minister, said Seoul would set aside its own money to help victims. But she stopped short of seeking to renegotiate the deal.

周二，韩国外长康京和(Kang Kyung-wha，文首图)表示，首尔方面将自己掏腰包帮助受害者。但她没有寻求就该协议重新进行谈判。

The move will come as a relief to Japan, which earlier in the day asked South Korea to stick to the pact.

此举将让日本松一口气。当天早些时候，日本曾要求韩国遵守该协议。

“We aren’t thinking of moving even a millimetre on the deal,” said Yoshihide Suga, Japan’s chief cabinet secretary.

“我们不考虑对该协议做一丝一毫的改动，”日本内阁官房长官菅义伟(Yoshihide Suga)表示。