Former U.S. ambassador to South Korea Kathleen Stephens says Korean women's human rights were brutally violated when they were forced into sexual slavery by Japanese soldiers during World War Two.

Stephens said in a media interview at the State Department in Washington on Wednesday that the U.S. government also shares her opinion.

She said she met former Korean sex slaves while serving as ambassador to South Korea, and it's important that Japan continues to seek solutions to resolve the issue.

The former ambassador is now a researcher of the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University.