A South Korean civic group supporting the so-called "comfort women" Monday urged Seoul to pressure Japan to apologize and pay compensation for women who were forced into sexual slavery during World War II.

In a speech to a seminar here on the impact of war on women at the United Nations Office, Rev. Kwon Hee-soon demanded the Seoul government officially pressure Tokyo to honor the recommendations of the U.N. Human Rights Commission and abide by the ruling of the international court on women to provide an official apology and compensation.

Kwon said the South Korean government failed to apply sufficient pressure on Japan last year in an apparent attempt to foster a friendly atmosphere between the two countries that co-hosted the 2002 FIFA World Cup soccer finals.

A leading member of the Korea Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan, Kwon noted many of the women who had survived the sexual slavery are now in frail condition due to old age and that Japan must apologize and provide compensation before they die.