Promise of progress made at first ever one-on-one summit between SKorea President Park Geun-hye and Japan PM Shinzo Abe.

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe insisted Monday that his country’s past abuse of Korean women “should not be allowed to remain an obstacle” between the two nations.

The optimistic remark was made to reporters in Seoul after Abe met with South Korea’s President Park Geun-hye, who since assuming office at the start of 2013 has refused to hold a bilateral summit with the Japanese leader over his attitude towards so-called former comfort women (AA).