A man wearing a mask of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe kneels down in front of a statue of a girl that represents the sexual victims by the Japanese military during a rally in front of Japanese Consulate in Busan, South Korea, January 4, 2017. Kim Sun-ho/Yonhap via REUTERS

TOKYO (Reuters) - Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told U.S. Vice President Joe Biden it was important for Japan and South Korea to carry out their agreement on the issue of “comfort women”, the Japanese government said in a statement on Friday.

Abe told Biden in telephone talks that it was not constructive to go back on the agreement, according to the statement.

The statement came as Japan has recalled its ambassador to South Korea over a statue commemorating Korean women forced to work in Japanese military brothels during World War Two. The statement did not refer to the statue.

Biden told Abe the United States would support the agreement and strongly hoped that both Japan and South Korea would carry out it, according to the statement.

In 2015, Japan and South Korea reached a landmark agreement to resolve the issue of “comfort women”, an issue that has long plagued ties between the neighbors.