North Korea has called for an apology, compensation, and investigation into the deaths of Koreans who lost their lives in the air raid on Tokyo, the capital of Japan, by the United States in 1945. It is alleged that without identifying the identities of the Koreans, they were buried in various locations, and later their bodies were exhumed and used in horrific and unethical crimes.

According to the North Korea Central News Agency (KCNA), a statement was made by the North Korea Association, established by Korean workers and families forcibly laboring during Japan’s colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula, regarding the “Tokyo Bombardment” in 1945. The statement mentioned that during the US air raid on Tokyo with 275 B-29 planes loaded with napalm bombs on March 10, 1945, Japan detained groups of Koreans subjected to inhumane treatment and degradation, who were forced to work in dangerous and laborious tasks, resulting in many of their deaths during the attacks.

“100,000 CITIZENS WERE KILLED” The statement claimed that the identities of the Koreans who died in the air raid, resulting in the deaths of approximately 100,000 of them, were allegedly buried in various locations without investigation, and their bodies were later exhumed and used in gruesome and unethical crimes. The statement called on Japan to apologize to the families of the Koreans who perished in the attack and to provide compensation.

“THEY COULDN’T EVEN RETURN TO THEIR LOVED ONES AFTER DEATH” The statement called for a thorough investigation into the remains of the victims and for the results to be announced to the public, stating, “Korean victims could not even return to their homeland where their loved ones, mothers, fathers, spouses, and children were waiting for them after death. This tragic fate is a direct result of Japanese imperialists occupying Korea and establishing a colonial rule, as well as the direct consequence of the abduction of Koreans.”