North Korea should abandon its demands for full compensation over Japan's former colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula because the figures involved are unrealistic, a ranking Pyongyang official said in a paper obtained Tuesday by Kyodo News.
This statement suggests that North Korea may be taking a more serious approach toward normalizing diplomatic ties with Japan.
Pyongyang's basic policy on bilateral negotiations prioritizes a Japanese apology and compensation for the period of colonial rule between 1910 and 1945.
In the paper in question, released in May, Pak Ryong Yeon, a deputy bureau chief at the North Korean Foreign Ministry, proposed that Pyongyang push for partial compensation during future negotiations aimed at normalizing ties with Japan.