As with all such agreements, the landmark deal on Korean women forced into sexual slavery for Japanese soldiers during World War II has both positive and negative aspects.

For the first time, Japan acknowledged the involvement of its military in the operation of the war brothels and clearly stated that its government was responsible.

The statement read by Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida after talks with his Korean counterpart Yun Byung-se on Monday made the points clear: “The comfort women issue is an issue whereby many women under the then military’s involvement bore deep scars to their honor and dignity, and from this perspective, the Japanese government acutely feels responsible.”

“(Shinzo) Abe, as the prime minister of Japan, offers from his heart an apology and repentance for everyone who suffered lots of pain and received scars that are difficult to heal physically and mentally.”

Given the Japanese prime minister had tried to water down the Kono Statement that mentioned coercion of Korean women into the military sex enslavement, the latest statement indeed represents a change in his position.

The agreement that the Japanese government will offer 1 billion yen ($8.7 million) to a foundation to be established in Korea to heal the sufferings of the sex slavery victims is also seen as progress in the Japanese side’s position.

Japan established a similar fund -- the Asian Women’s Fund -- in 1995, but it tried to distance the government from the project, with contributions mostly from the public. Most Korean victims rejected compensation from the fund, which closed in 2007.

But all those positive elements should not bury the negative aspects of the agreement: First of all, both sides circumvented the issue of legal responsibility for the sex slavery issue. Japan had insisted that the 1965 normalization treaty resolved all the matters related to its colonial rule of Korea, while Seoul maintained that the treaty did not cover the issue.

Another uncomfortable element is that Abe apologized through his foreign minister. This will be hardly be acceptable to the 46 surviving victims, who had even insisted that the Japanese prime minister should kneel down before them if he is sincere about apologizing for the atrocities his ancestors committed. It would have been much better, if Abe at least had read the statement himself.

The apparent consent of the Seoul government to the Japanese demand to relocate the statue of a young comfort woman will also remain a thorny issue. The statue, located in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, has been a bone of contention between the two countries, with Abe and his rightist lieutenants obsessed with its removal.

In the press statement, Yun said that the Korean government would try to resolve the issue appropriately through consultations with related organizations. It might sound opportunistic to insist that the statement says only “try” to resolve, but it should be noted that for now all the 46 remaining victims, who are split over approving the agreement, are united in opposing its relocation.

The press statement noted that the agreement is “final and irreversible” as long as Japan faithfully honors its promises. Even without the string attached, what Japan does and what Japanese politicians say will largely determine whether the two countries will be able to make the issue a thing of the past and look to the future together.

We say this because a single comment from a Japanese politician and government official regarding the sex slavery issue and other historical matters and territorial disputes has often turned the clock back and frozen relations between the neighbors.