North Korean paper calls for Japan to make reparations for colonial

In this 2007 November file photo, Gil Won-ok from the North Korean capital Pyongyang cries during a hearing at the European Parliament in Brussels as she recalls her time as a 'comfort woman,' or sex slave for the Japanese military, around World War II. The woman, who demanded an official apology from Japan's government, said she was forced at age 13 to work as a sex slave for Japanese soldiers. Reuters-Yonhap

North Korea's main newspaper on Tuesday urged Japan to repent and make reparations for colonial-era brutality on the occasion of the 111th anniversary of Tokyo's annexation of the Korean Peninsula.

The Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the North's ruling party, pointed out that Japan forced Korea to sign the treaty in 1910, and called it a fabricated and illegitimate treaty.

The paper challenged Japanese assertion that the annexation took effect legally with the approval of King Sunjong. The treaty was signed on Aug. 22, 1910, between pro-Japan Korean Prime Minister Lee Wan-yong and Japanese Governor General of Korea Terauchi Masatake.

"We must make Japan pay the price of all the pain and misery it has inflicted on our people in the past," a researcher said in the article.

Uriminzokkiri, a North Korean propaganda website, also carried a commentary slamming Japan for indicating that South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo are Japanese territory on a map in Tokyo's recent defense white paper for children.

The website called such a move Japan's efforts to brainwash their children with militarist ideas and instill vengeance in their hearts to invade Korea. (Yonhap)