Japan refuses to compensate victims of colonial rule

Seoul, March 19 : Japan has refused compensation for South Koreans who suffered during its colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula 1910-1945, Prensa Latina reported.

The Japanese foreign ministry has ignored the contents of a 1965 bilateral treaty. The document, declassified recently, sets the payment of what Tokyo calls payment of unpaid wages for forced labour and recognises the legitimacy of people claiming individual compensation.

During the rule of Japanese empire in the first half of 20th century, thousands of Koreans were forced to serve in the war and the women were forced to work as sex slaves.

Choi Bong-Tae, lawyer of the Korean victims, said Japan must declassify all the documents related to those negotiations, the report said citing state-run Yonhap news agency Thursday.