JAPAN / Politics

North Korea tells Japan it may raise wartime labor issue if Tokyo keeps up pressure on abductees

In an apparent attempt to thwart Tokyo's demand that Pyongyang take quick steps to resolve the abduction of Japanese nationals decades ago, North Korea has reportedly warned Japan that it may raise the wartime forced labor issue during any future bilateral talks. | KYODO

Kyodo, Staff Report

Jan 13, 2019

North Korea has told Japan it could raise the subject of wartime forced labor during Tokyo's occupation of the Korean Peninsula in any future bilateral talks, diplomatic sources have said.

The wartime labor issue has been the source of heightened tensions between Tokyo and Seoul after South Korea's top court last year ordered several Japanese companies to compensate South Korean workers for forced labor.

Japan has refused to comply with the ruling based on its stance that the matter of compensation for wartime labor was resolved under a 1965 agreement that normalized relations with South Korea. Pyongyang has repeatedly criticized this stance in state-run media.

North Korea tells Japan it may raise wartime labor issue if Tokyo keeps up pressure on abductees

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