Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono says that South Korea should pay for wartime compensation after the South Korean top court ordered a Japanese firm to pay compensation to four Korean victims of forced labor during Japan's colonial rule.

According to Japan’s state broadcaster NHK on Sunday, Kono made the remarks during a speech on Saturday in Kanagawa Prefecture, saying that Tokyo cannot accept the ruling.

The Japanese top diplomat reportedly said that a 1965 deal between Tokyo and Seoul was an agreement which says South Korea will be responsible for wartime compensations and reparations for South Korean nationals.

He repeated Japan's position that issues of wartime reparations were completely settled with the 1965 treaty, saying that the Japanese government provided the Seoul government with money for economic cooperation instead of compensating each individual.

Kono also said that at the time of the deal, Japan offered Korea 500 million dollars when Korea's annual budget was 300 million dollars.