South Korea urged Japan on Tuesday not to gloss over its history as some Japanese ruling party lawmakers claimed that its government should actively tackle the global community's misunderstanding over its wartime sex slavery.

A committee under the Liberal Democratic Party plans to submit a proposal to the government saying that Japan should be more active in correcting what is wrongfully understood over the sex slave issue, according to Japanese media.

Japan's sexual enslavement of Korean and other Asian women is the main source of diplomatic tension between Seoul and Tokyo due to Japan's refusal to sincerely apologize over the issue.

Seoul's foreign ministry called on Japan to immediately stop its move to cover up its wartime history and warned that any attempt to do so will spark backlash from the international community.

"We cannot help expressing grave concerns that some lawmakers from Japan's ruling party are trying to whitewash its history following Japan's review of its previous apology over the sex slaves," the ministry said.

Last year, Japan irked Seoul and Beijing, victims of Japan's wartime aggression, by reviewing its 1993 apology over the sex slavery issue, known as the Kono Statement. Japan claimed the statement was the outcome of a political compromise between Seoul and Tokyo.

South Korea demands that Japan show sincerity by settling the sex slave issue "in a way that is agreeable to the living victims," including through a sincere apology and compensation.

"The coercive nature of Japan's sex slavery is undeniable. No one can change this historic truth and the global community's grave assessment over this issue," the ministry said. (Yonhap)