The statement said that the surprise search operation conducted by Japanese police against the chairman and a vice-chairman of Chongryon Central Standing Committee who are deputies to the Supreme People's Assembly of the DPRK is triggering off strong protest and resentment among all Koreans as it was a criminal act unheard-of in its scope and illegality, the statement noted, adding:

The arrogant and base search operation conducted by the Japanese police authorities, deliberately linking Chongryon with the suspected involvement in a case without any clear legal ground, was a politically- motivated suppression of Chongryon officials and Koreans in Japan and a violation of human rights and national discrimination against them.

The Japanese authorities should stop at once the crackdown upon Chongryon and Koreans in Japan, clearly understanding the main spirit of the DPRK-Japan Pyongyang Declaration and the trend of the times, and make an apology for such reckless search and punish those responsible for it.