HUNDREDS of South Korean protesters joined two surviving former “comfort women” yesterday to denounce an agreement with Japan to resolve an issue stemming from Japan’s wartime past that has long plagued ties between neighbors.

    The two “comfort women,” as those who were forced to work at Japan’s wartime military brothels are euphemistically known, criticized the government for agreeing with Japan on Monday to “finally and irreversibly” settle the issue.

    “The government cannot be trusted,” said one of the women, Lee Yong-su, 88.

    She said she and fellow survivors were never consulted by officials as they negotiated the agreement.

    “We will continue to fight until the end,” she said.

    She and the other protesters, including students, opposition legislators and civic activists, are demanding what they call a sincere apology from Japan and formal compensation for victims.

    “We did nothing wrong,” Lee said. “Japan took us to be comfort women and still tries to deny its crime.”

    South Korean activists say there may have been as many as 200,000 Korean victims, only a few of whom have ever told of the abuse they endured at the hands of Japanese forces before or during the World War II.

    Only 46 survivors remain of 238 women in South Korea who came forward in the early 1990s and their average age is 89.

    (SD-Agencies)