SEOUL, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- An elderly South Korean woman, who was forced into sexual slavery for Japanese military brothels during World War II, died at the age of 97 Wednesday, reducing the number of surviving victims to 26.

Kim Sun-ok passed away early in the morning due to deteriorating health, according to the House of Sharing, a civic shelter advocating the so-called comfort women victims, a euphemism for the sex slaves.

Kim's death reduced the number of surviving comfort women victims to 26 out of the 240 officially registered with the South Korean government.

Historians said as many as 400,000 women from Asian countries, including the Korean Peninsula, were forced into sex enslavement for Japanese military brothels during World War II.