Nikai, Abe's Special Envoy, Meets S. Korean Pres. Moon

Seoul, June 12 (Jiji Press)--Japanese ruling party executive Toshihiro Nikai, acting as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's special envoy, visited South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Monday, to lay the groundwork for an Abe-Moon summit expected to take place early next month. Before the meeting at the Blue House presidential office, Nikai, secretary-general of the Liberal Democratic Party, held talks with South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon. Moon's handling of a landmark bilateral accord in 2015 on the issue of former "comfort women" in South Korea, who were forced to sexually serve Japanese troops before and during World War II, is being closely watched ahead of the summit with Abe. After he was inaugurated last month, Moon told Abe in their telephone talks that the reality is that many South Koreans cannot emotionally accept the comfort women deal, designed to "finally and irreversibly" resolve the thorny issue. Earlier on Monday, Nikai also held talks with Choo Mi-ae, leader of South Korea's ruling Democratic Party. END