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U.S. welcomes Park-Abe agreement on sexual slavery issue

The United States on Monday welcomed an agreement between South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to accelerate negotiations between the two countries to resolve the issue of Tokyo's wartime sexual slavery.

"We welcome reports that President Park and President Abe agreed to accelerate their efforts to resolve this sensitive issue," Elizabeth Trudeau, a State Department spokeswoman, said at a regular press briefing, declining to discuss details.

The Park-Abe meeting marked the first bilateral summit between the two countries in about three and a half years. The U.S. is believed to have watched the meeting closely as a gauge of whether the badly frayed relations between the two American allies would improve.

Sour relations between the two allies have been a key cause for concern for the U.S. as it seeks to bolster three-way security cooperation, seen as a pillar of President Barack Obama's "pivot to Asia," aimed in part at reining in China.

The meeting was held on the sidelines of a trilateral summit that also involved Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, which marked the resumption of three-way cooperation talks that have been suspended since 2012 due to history and territorial tensions.

The three leaders agreed to increase cooperation, especially on efforts to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue.

Trudeau also welcomed a series of meetings among the three countries.

"We welcome the meetings of the leaders of Japan, the Republic of Korea and China in Seoul. We support their efforts to improve relations among the three countries," she said. "We believe strong and constructive relations between South Korea, Japan, and China support regional peace and prosperity, which serves our interests and the interests of the region."

Asked whether the U.S. wants to see the three countries hold such meetings regularly, the spokeswoman said it is a decision "for those three nations to take." (Yonhap)