Tokyo gov't apologizes for Koreans detained in Siberia

The Japanese government has made an official apology for the Koreans who were forcibly enlisted in the Japanese Army during World War II and for those who were detained in Siberia by Soviet forces after Japanese troops left them behind after the war ended. It was the first time that the Japanese made an apology for these acts. Tokyo stopped short of offering compensation to the victims.

The apology was made Monday in a letter sent by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to Lee Byoung-Joo, who heads an association of Koreans who were detained in Siberia. According to Korean government officials, Lee filed a petition with then Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi in October 1999 demanding compensation for the victims.

In the letter, the Japanese ministry admitted that its actions in Siberia contravened international law and were not humanitarian. ¡°We offer an apology from the bottom of our hearts for the great physical and psychological pain and suffering that so many people, including members of your association, experienced due to Japanese acts,¡± it read.

The ministry rejected the demand for compensation, saying that all war-related claims were settled under a Japanese-Korean agreement signed after the end of the war.