The South Korean government has released rare video footage of Korean women forced to work in Japanese military brothels during World War II, the first time moving images have been shown of the "comfort women."

A government-funded research team from Seoul National University found the footage, which was filmed in 1944 by an American soldier, in the United States National Archives after a two-year hunt.

"South Korea has not had its own data on comfort women and (has) been relying on Japanese and American data," said Kang Sung-hyun, an academic on the team.

"It is crucial for South Korea to have our own data for the issue of comfort women," he said.

The 18-second black-and-white clip shows seven women lined up outside a brick house, being questioned by Chinese soldiers. The women were found by U.S.-China allied forces in China's Yunnan province, the team said.

The women were registered by U.S. soldiers, the research team said.

Two of the women in the video had already appeared in previously released photos of comfort women.