A spokesperson for the Korean Committee on Measures for the Sexual Slavery for Japanese Army and Drafting Victims issued the following press statement on August 15:

77 years have passed since the end of World War II which was deeply recorded as the biggest disaster in human history.

Though a long time equivalent to the whole life of man passed, people are remembering the truth and conveying it to the rising generation while recollecting the time.

This is because they are doing so in order not to suffer from sufferings once again by remembering forever the lessons left by the world war and sincerely building a peaceful, equal and harmonious world.

However, there is a country which is trying to repeat the bloody past, not learning about anything in the lessons of history. It is none other than Japan.

Japan should have been more honest and sincere in liquidating the past crimes than any other countries as the murderous ringleader that plunged Asia in blood and the most despicable war criminal state in the world. But it has not discharged its legal and moral obligation for the past liquidation till now, over half of the century since it was defeated.

It has never liquidated even a bit though it deprived the Korean nation of their language and letters, surnames and names and even their dressing and customs, destroyed and plundered fabulous national treasures and cultural treasures and caused astronomically huge economic losses while enforcing the 40-odd year-long colonial fascist rule over Korea after occupying it with arms.

Moreover, the Japanese imperialists forcibly walked away more than 8.4 million young and middle-aged Koreans, killed at least one million Koreans, kidnapped over 200 000 Korean women to take them for sexual slaves of the Imperial Japanese Army. This grudge can never be settled generation after generation as the hideous unethical crimes with no statute of limitation by international law.

Nevertheless, in Japan dietmen throng to the Yasukuni Shrine to "remember" the war criminals who were punished naturally while justifying the past aggression and distorting the historic facts, Hinomaru and Kimigayo, the legacies of Japanese imperialism, were instituted as "national flag" and "anthem" and the rising generation has been taught with textbooks beautified with their criminal acts.

This tells that Japan, the defeated country of the Second World War, has not yet gotten rid of the wild dream of the dominator and leader of Asia.

Now, Japan has made all preparations after laying social foundation to turn itself into a military giant while massively fabricating and spreading the "threat story" of the DPRK. It is trying to remove the last stumbling block in its reinvasion by retrogressively revising the defunct "pacifist constitution".

Japan is fostering chauvinism against the Korean nation while persistently suppressing and discriminating the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon), the dignified overseas citizens' organization of the DPRK, and other Korean citizens in Japan. This is nothing but the aim to increase the dangerous consciousness and hostility toward the DPRK.

But Japan should clearly understand that the era of today is different from the one before the one century where it had fooled and trampled down other countries and nations as it wished while touting "oneness of Japan and Korea" and "spirit of universal brotherhood".

Those who are not forgetting the past painful sacrifice and disaster will never remain an onlooker to Japan's moves for reinvasion and pardon the encroachment on their dignity and sovereignty.

The Korean people are not repressing the surging national resentment at Japan hell-bent on the reckless moves against the DPRK and Chongryon while pursuing the vicious hostile policy toward the DPRK, far from thoroughly apologizing for its past crimes, but hardening extraordinary readiness to settle account with Japan to the end.

Japan should clearly understand if it does not clearly settle account with the unethical crimes it forced the Korean people and other Asian people into the unbearable misfortune and sufferings but resorts to the reckless moves for turning itself into a military giant while insulting the victims, it will face only the judgment of justice and history.

Rodong Sinmun