By Aamir Latif
KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) - North Korea on Monday asked Japan to "investigate and apologize" to Korean victims killed in the US bombing of Tokyo in 1945, near the end of World War II.
The demand came from a North Korean association of the families of those mobilized for forced labor by Japan during the country's 1910-45 colonial rule over Korea, the state-run Korean Central News Agency reported.
The US Air Force conducted a massive bombing on Tokyo on the night of March 9-10, 1945, dropping bombs from hundreds of heavy bombers.
The devastating air raid, known as the Bombing of Tokyo, burned most of eastern Tokyo in an attempt to force a surrender.
About 100,000 people were estimated to have been killed in this single-day air attack, with about 10% believed to be Koreans.
Japan mourns the victims of the air raid every year on March 10, although its Korean victims were reportedly never compensated, according to Seoul-based Yonhap News.
The association said: "At that time the Japanese imperialists kept Koreans in custody in groups, claiming that Koreans who had been subjected to subhuman maltreatment and humiliation, dangerous and toilsome labor could escape in the confusion of air raids."
"As a result, many Koreans died an accidental death."
North Korea alleged that the Korean dead people were buried in 67 places, including parks, temples, and campuses, without investigating their identities.
The association urged Tokyo to make a "thorough" apology and provide reparations for the victims and their bereaved families "for the thrice-cursed crimes of pushing innocent people into death."