Yukio Okamoto, a director of Mitsubishi Materials, speaks to the media. KEN MORITSUGU / AP

A publicity official said it was "inconvenient" to comment because the company was still hammering out the details, Xinhua said.

The Seoul-based JoongAng Ilbo newspaper added to the pressure on the Japanese company on Friday, saying it "has not made an apology" to Koreans who suffered in its mines during the war.

Sun Cheng, a professor of Japanese studies at China University of Political Science and Law, said he expected Mitsubishi to deliver a formal reply to the Chinese victims in the near future.

Cui hopes an apology will be forthcoming soon.

"I'm 64, and I hope the whole issue can be resolved as soon as possible to free my children from having to tackle it."

Yang Yixi, Cai Hong and Xinhua contributed to this story.

zhangyunbi@chinadaily.com.cn