North Korea has strongly criticized Japan for evading payment of debts to Koreans for its past colonial exploitation. The communist country urged Japan to apologize and compensate victims as required by international rules.

In a statement issued by the (North) Korean Lawyers Committee Friday, the North said Japan should apologize and give compensation for its killings and exploitation on the peninsula during the colonization period between 1910 and 1945.

The lawyers’ statement said that Japan has ignored such responsibilities to Koreans while rushing to become a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.

It said that many countries are now working together to resolve their past sordid issues or unsolved problems in order to promote reconciliation and cooperation. It added that Japan alone goes against this trend.

It listed diplomatic treaties Japan forced Korea to sign in the early 1900s that laid the legal groundwork for colonization. The statement said that they violated U.N. rules on international agreements and thus had no legal authority.