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A statue symbolizing the "comfort women" who were forced to work in brothels of the Japanese army during the war. Photo taken in Nagoya, August 3, 2019. Kyodo via REUTERS

In South Korea, a woman victim of forced labor in Japan during the Second World War decided to publicly tell her story. A testimony that comes as the issue of reparations for the hundreds of thousands of Korean victims of forced labor is at the heart of the worsening trade war between South Korea and the former colonial occupant of Japan in recent weeks. Tokyo considers that this issue was settled by a treaty signed in 1965, but a Korean court sentenced Japanese companies to pay compensation. Japan responded with economic reprisals.

With our correspondent in Seoul, Frédéric Ojardias

Kim Jeong-ju, 87, is angry. This Korean was 14 when she was sent to work in a steel mill in Japan. She recounts her experience in front of the foreign press in Seoul.

" When my sister and I were sent to Japan, we were promised that we would go to high school and high school. But in fact I was sent to work in the factory of a company called Fujikoshi. I was so hungry, all the time (crying). I was a slave. At night, we were so afraid of aerial bombardment that we kept our shoes ready to run away if necessary (anger) . But today, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe refuses to acknowledge that we were slaves. I want his excuses. I also require repairs. "

► See also: 87-year-old Kim Bok-dong, ex-"comfort woman," awaits official apology from Japan

The timing of the press conference was not chosen at random: as the historical feuds between Korea and Japan fester and come with escalating trade reprisals , Korean victims of forced labor want to remind them that should not be forgotten . They want to show that history is on their side and they are trying to put pressure on Tokyo.

► See also: Japan: a historic dispute comes to the fore in trade with Seoul