Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says Japan has fulfilled its responsibility for the Korean victims of wartime forced labor.

Speaking at the National Diet on Tuesday, Abe reiterated Tokyo’s longstanding claim that a 1965 deal between Tokyo and Seoul has settled all issues of individual compensation to forced labor victims. 

His remarks follow Tuesday's South Korean Supreme Court decision ordering a Japanese company to pay compensation for forced labor during the early 20th century.

Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono also issued a statement, says  the decision "can never be accepted” and that the South Korean court overturned the legal basis of friendly ties between the two countries.