Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Japan and South Korea had agreed to speed up negotiations to settle the issue of "comfort women", those who were forced into prostitution at Japanese wartime brothels.

 

Abe's remarks came after he held his first bilateral talks on Monday with South Korean President Park Geun-hye.

 

"It's the 50th anniversary of the normalization of (Japan-South Korea) ties this year. Keeping that in mind, we've agreed to accelerate talks for the earliest possible resolution (of the "comfort women issue)," Abe told reporters after the summit.