The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Wednesday urged Japan to learn from Germany and compensate for its past crimes during its colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.

In a signed commentary issued on Wednesday by the cabinet newspaper Minju Joson, DPRK called on Japan to compensate for its past crimes, before Germany completes its actions to compensate for its own crimes.

The International Organization of Migration (IOM) announced earlier that Germany would complete its payments of compensation to 119,000 survivors, of forced labor and slave labor programs from the World War II period, by the end of this year, according to the paper.

According to the newspaper, Japan is yet to take such a bold step, like Germany, to compensate its victims for the inhuman crimes that Japan carried out against them in the past. The newspaper added, "Far from making compensation, Japan has not even admitted them."

The newspaper also said that it is very difficult for Japan, with its narrow-mindedness, to be "a full-fledged member" of the international community.

Under Japan's colonial rule, 8.4 million slave workers were kidnapped from the Korean peninsula and taken to Japan, and some 200,000 women were abducted by the Japanese army to serve as sex slaves during the World War II.

Source: Xinhua