NK slams Japan's removal of memorial stone for Korean victims of wartime forced labor

The memorial stone for Korean forced labor victims is dismantled at a public park in the city of Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture, Japan, Jan. 29. Courtesy of Kyodo News

North Korea on Tuesday denounced a Japanese local government for tearing down a memorial stone for Korean victims of Japan's wartime forced labor and called on it to immediately restore it.

Gunma Prefecture pulled down the memorial stone at a public park in Takasaki last week despite opposition from activist groups. The monument was erected in 2004 by a civic group to promote public understanding of the shared history from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.

North Korea condemned Gunma Prefecture authorities' removal of the memorial stone as a "violent act of fascism" and called for the immediate restoration of the stone.

"This is an intolerable and inhumane act that once again hurts the wounds of victims of (Japan's) forced labor and their descendants," the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in a commentary.

North Korea said the removal of the monument pointed to Japan's denial of its wartime history and its move to glorify the colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.

"Gunma Prefecture authorities should understand the consequences of the current situation that has sparked an unbearable anger and immediately restore the memorial stone," the KCNA said.

Gunma Prefecture refused to extend the state approval for the establishment of the stone, claiming that an activist made inappropriate remarks about Japan's forced labor during a 2012 memorial event. Japan's top court ruled in favor of the Gunma authorities in 2022.

The forced labor issue has been a major thorn in bilateral relation between South Korea and Japan. Many Koreans were forced to work in Japanese factories under harsh conditions during Japan's colonial rule. (Yonhap)