South Korean President Park Geun-hye on Monday urged Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to face up to Japan's imperialistic history and apologize for wartime brutalities.

"The Abe government failed to take advantage of chances to make a sincere apology for historical issues, such as 'comfort women' victims, and strengthen trust with neighboring countries," Park told a meeting of senior presidential secretaries, citing Abe's speech to US Congress.

On Wednesday, Abe became the first Japanese prime minister to address a joint session of the US Congress, saying that he would uphold related statements made by his predecessors for Imperial Japan's past brutalities.