A government panel unveiled Friday its much-anticipated report on the 1992-1993 diplomatic negotiations between Seoul and Tokyo over the "comfort women" wartime brothel system. The report describes a political tug of war over the wording used in an apology statement that was issued by then-Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono in 1993.

In drafting its report, the five-member panel inspected confidential government records. It said Seoul repeatedly demanded that Tokyo admit it forced Korean women to work at "comfort stations" — and said South Korea would not demand any financial compensation for the women.

Although the panel's report lacks a clear conclusion, it apparently suggests that Seoul and Tokyo wrestled with the text through extensive political to and fro rather than by investigating the historical record of what critics call Japan's sexual slavery.