The U.S. government has expressed regret over Japan's decision to force women into sexual slavery during World War Two, calling the act “a great human rights violation.”

During a regular news briefing on Monday, U.S. State Department Spokesman Patrick Ventrell told Yonhap News Agency that what happened to the sex slaves was "deplorable."

Ventrell said the U.S. extends its sincere and deepest sympathies to the victims.

Regarding a potential contact between the U.S. and North Korea at the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in Cambodia, the spokesman said he couldn't identify who Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would meet in the forum.