China Wednesday renewed calls for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe not to dilute Tokyo's past apologies for its wartime atrocities.

China's foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying made the remarks in response to a resolution approved this week by South Korea's National Assembly that condemns Abe for failing to issue his own apology for the Japanese military's sexual enslavement of Asian women during World War II in his speech in the U.S. last month.

"China has been urging the Japanese government and leader to be responsible for history, face up to and deeply reflect upon history, as enshrined in the statements and commitments made by previous cabinets such as the Murayama Statement," Hua said in a regular press briefing.

Hua was referring to a landmark 1995 apology made by former Japanese Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama.

"Only by doing so, can Japan win the trust of the international community and develop a friendly relationship in the future with its Asian neighbors," Hua said.

According to historians, more than 200,000 women, mostly Korean but also Chinese and other Asian nationalities, were coerced into sexual servitude at front-line Japanese brothels during the war.

Those sex slaves were euphemistically described by the Japanese military as "comfort women." (Yonhap)