South Korea says WWII sexual slavery survivors will receive $90,000

Surviving South Korean women, who were forced into sexual slavery by Japan's military during the Second World War, will be eligible to receive about 100 million won ($90,000, £68,069) from a foundation that will be funded by the Japanese government, Seoul said on Thursday.

South Korea's foreign ministry said families of deceased victims will be able to receive 20 million won ($18,000, £13,610). It added that it expects the Japanese government to transfer the promised 1 billion yen ($9.9m, £7.4m) soon to a foundation that was established in July.

The foundation's office opening in Seoul was met by protests, as many in South Korea believe that the government settled for far too less in the December agreement.

In December, Tokyo and Seoul agreed to set up the organisation when they settled a long-standing dispute over South Korean sex slavery victims.

According to Seoul, there are currently 46 surviving victims and around 199 who have died. Under the agreement, which is described by both governments as irreversible, Japan vowed to provide funds for the foundation, to support the victims. In return, South Korea has promised not to criticise Japan anymore over the issue. Besides, it would also try and resolve Japan's objection over the statue of a girl, representing victims of sex slavery, which sits in front of the Japanese embassy in Seoul.

Around 200,000 women were enslaved by the Japanese imperial military from the early 1930s to the end of Second World War. It is believed that many of the victims were under 20, some as young as 12. The enslaved women were Korean, Chinese, Taiwanese, Malaysian, Indonesian, Dutch, East Timorese and Japanese. The first "comfort station" was believed to be established in 1932 in Shanghai.