Ex-Japan PM Murayama meets 'comfort women' in Seoul

Former Japanese prime minister Tomiichi Murayama, who officially apologized to victims of Japan's wartime atrocities while in office, met elderly Korean women forced to serve as sex slaves for Japanese soldiers during World War Two.

Upon his arrival in Seoul on Tuesday for a three-day visit, Murayama visited the National Assembly and toured an exhibition of artwork by the former sex slaves. He spoke with three of the victims at the exhibition.

The 89-year-old former Japanese leader released a statement in 1995 that acknowledged and apologized for the suffering neighboring countries underwent for decades starting from the early 1900s.

His visit comes as relations between Seoul and Tokyo have deteriorated over Japan's aggressive nationalist moves led by jingoist right-leaning Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Murayama is scheduled to give a lecture at the National Assembly today (on Wednesday) and meet Prime Minister Chung Hong-won before returning home on Thursday.