North Korea committee: Japan 'drowning in raging waves of history'

Aug. 23 (UPI) -- North Korea warned Japan on Thursday over its colonial past, saying Tokyo must atone for its history before moving to a new future in bilateral relations.

Pyongyang's Korean Asia-Pacific Peace Committee said Japan should move toward apologies and reparations, according to Yonhap and Seoul Pyongyang News.

"Japan must be acutely aware that without clearing the past, it cannot move even an inch toward the future," the North Korean committee said.

The group added that not only is Japan currently "not apologizing or making reparations," the country is being "swallowed by the raging waves of history" while defying peace and justice.

Japan "could sink deep into the Pacific Ocean" as a result of denials, North Korea stated.

"How long will you live in the curse, passing on the historical responsibility of apologies and reparations, like a legacy on the shoulders of the next generation?" North Korea stated.

The committee also took aim at Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for not offering apologies for past war crimes, unlike his predecessors who had made public apologies since 1993.

Kim Jong Un has yet to meet with Abe, after meeting three times with Chinese President Xi Jinping and meeting U.S. President Donald Trump in June.

In July, North Korea slammed Tokyo for offering financial support to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

"Japan's low-minded way of thinking, that everything can be solved by money has not changed yesterday or today...Japan's 'cost-burden' nonsense only spurs the anger of the North Korean people," KCNA has previously stated.