Although the leaders of Japan and South Korea agreed this week to take prompt action on the issue of Korean women and girls forced into wartime Japanese brothels, it remains uncertain whether they will settle the dispute by year's end.
Although Seoul says it is hoping for a speedy resolution, the gaps remain wide.
In her first-ever bilateral talks with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday in Seoul, South Korean President Park Geun-hye called the issue "the biggest obstacle to efforts to improve bilateral ties," and demanded that it be settled quickly and "in a way that our people can accept."