Japan on Monday recalled its ambassador to South Korea in protest of a statue in Busan dedicated to the women and girls forced to work in Japan's wartime brothels.

According to a source familiar with the bilateral relationships between the two countries, Ambassador Yasumasa Nagamine is expected to stay in Japan for two weeks or so. However, Nagamine's stay was shortened, as there were no signs of a quick resolution to the issue.

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The statue was erected last month in front of the Japanese Consulate General in Busan. It is one of a number in South Korea representing the women and girls forced to provide sex for Imperial Japanese troops before and during World War II.

Japan refers to the sex slaves as "ianfu" or "comfort women." Japan controlled the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945.

The latest controversy comes despite a December 2015 bilateral agreement that set out to fully resolve the comfort women issue. Under the deal, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe apologized to the women who "suffered incurable physical and psychological wounds as comfort women."

Last year, Japan gave 1 billion Yen (approximately $860,000) to a South Korean fund to assist former comfort women. In the agreement, South Korea also agreed to deal with the issue of a similar statue placed in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul.

On Saturday, a South Korean Buddhist monk set himself on fire in Seoul to protest against the country's settlement with Japan on the compensation of comfort women. The Buddhist monk suffered third-degree burns and serious damage to vital body organs.

TagsJapan, South Korea, Comfort Women