U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has told Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that he backs the agreement signed by Tokyo and Seoul on the Korean women who were forced to work in Japan's wartime military brothels, the Foreign Ministry said.

The agreement, signed in 2015 to "finally and irreversibly" settle the long-standing dispute over the "comfort women," Japan's euphemism for the sex slaves, has come under further scrutiny since Moon Jae-in, who has called for renegotiating it, was elected South Korean president earlier this month.

In the talks held on the sidelines of the Group of Seven industrialized nations' summit in the Italian city of Taormina on Saturday, Abe stressed the importance of complying with the accord, while Guterres said he supports and welcomes it, according to the ministry.