Ms. Eiko Kawasaki and lawsuit support (Tokyo=Yonhap News) Ms. Eiko Kawasaki (second from right) holds a placard with demands in front of a Japanese court with members of the North Korean repatriation victims' group "Let's All Gather" and supporting lawyers. [Provided by Let's All Gather] A Japanese court has issued its first ruling ordering North Korea to pay compensation to ethnic Koreans from Japan who were lured to North Korea by propaganda promising a "paradise on Earth" and later escaped.

According to the Seoul Office of the UN Human Rights High Commissioner and domestic North Korean human rights organizations on the 26th, the Tokyo District Court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, including Ms. Eiko Kawasaki, in a damages lawsuit filed by ethnic Koreans from Japan against North Korea.

The court ordered the North Korean government to pay 88 million yen (approximately 826 million Korean won) to the four surviving plaintiffs.

The plaintiffs, who were repatriated to North Korea during the 1960s and 1970s and subsequently escaped, filed a lawsuit in the Tokyo District Court in 2018 seeking damages, alleging they were deceived by promises of a "paradise on Earth" and subsequently had their human rights suppressed.

The repatriation program, conducted under an agreement between North Korea and Japan on the repatriation of Koreans residing in Japan, facilitated the settlement of ethnic Koreans associated with the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon) in North Korea between 1959 and 1984. This lawsuit garnered attention as the first civil trial in Japan to ascertain the responsibility of the North Korean government in connection with the repatriation program.

In the first instance trial, the court ruled that it lacked jurisdiction over the plaintiffs' claims that they were unjustly detained in North Korea and that their family members' departure was obstructed. While acknowledging that Japan had jurisdiction over claims for damages arising from the inducement to migrate to North Korea, the court found that the 20-year statute of limitations for claiming damages had expired.

However, in 2023, the Tokyo High Court overturned this decision, stating that "Japanese courts have jurisdiction over the entirety of the infringements caused by North Korea's illegal acts," and remanded the case back to the Tokyo District Court.

Consequently, the Tokyo District Court has issued its first ruling ordering North Korea to pay compensation.

The Seoul Office of the UN Human Rights High Commissioner and domestic North Korean human rights organizations have welcomed this ruling.

In a press release, James Heenan, Director of the Seoul Office of the UN Human Rights High Commissioner, stated, "This is a decision that meaningfully recognizes the efforts to achieve justice for the human rights violations committed by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea," adding, "We hope this court decision will lead to further opportunities for accountability."

In a joint statement, organizations including Mulmangcho, the Association of Families of Korean War POWs, and the North Korea Human Rights Citizens' Network (NKHR) stated that "the winning ethnic Korean plaintiffs from Japan should seek North Korean assets in Japan to enforce the damages judgment and realize justice."

They also emphasized the need for a swift ruling from the Supreme Court on the appeal concerning the collection of royalties from North Korean copyrights held by the South-North Economic and Cultural Cooperation Foundation (KUMCO), which was pursued by repatriated former POWs who had won lawsuits against North Korea in domestic courts.

These organizations urged, "Reminding that delayed justice is not justice, we request a swift ruling from the Supreme Court."