Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe apologized to South Korea over Japan's use of sexual slavery during World War II.
During a Seoul meeting, Japan and South Korea's foreign ministers also announced a deal to set up a multimillion-dollar fund to help women who were forced to work at Japanese military brothels.
Abe then telephoned his South Korean counterpart and apologized, Vatican Radio reported.
Speaking to reporters, Abe expressed "deep remorse" for what historians say were tens of thousands of women and girls, mostly from Asian countries, forced to travel with Japanese troops as sex workers.
The agreement requires South Korea to lay the matter to rest and to cease haranguing Japan in public. Abe said future Japanese generations cannot be forced to apologize repeatedly for things they did not do, according to Vatican Radio.
