Rodong Sinmun Sunday says in a commentary in this regard:

This assertion just clearly proves the Japanese reactionaries' impudence and moral vulgarity.

What is more enraging is that Japan is finding fault with the DPRK over the issue which has nothing to do with the liquidation of its past.

The DPRK's access to nuclear weapons is not a political bargaining chip and, furthermore, it is not an issue that Japan is entitled to talk about. This being a hard reality, Japan asserts that if the DPRK fails to denuclearize itself first, it will not discuss the settlement of the past.

Japan's intention is clear. Its aim is to evade the past liquation at any cost under the pretext of the DPRK's nuclear issue. The chief Cabinet secretary's remark is an expression of sinister intention of the Japanese reactionaries to bury the stark history of aggression and plunder of Korea into oblivion, and an extension of the acts to do so.

The crimes committed by the Japanese imperialists against the Korean nation can never be written off and justified.

The only way out for Japan to live as a member of the international community is to make an apology and reparation for its past wrongdoings.

There will be no future for Japan without this.