Civilian delegations from North and South Korea on Monday issued a joint statement condemning Japan's distortion of history.

"The Japanese government should stop distorting history and cooperate in regional efforts to discover historical truths," said the statement issued on the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Korean Peninsula from Japanese colonial rule.

The statement denounced the recent remarks in some Japanese circles that Japan's aggression of Asian countries and regions is "liberation war."

This "is completely a distortion of history which goes against the trend of times," said the statement.

The statement also pointed out militarism is resurging in Japan as Japan is continually expanding its armament, strengthening military cooperation with the US, and causing more conflicts with neighboring countries.

"Japan should give appropriate compensation for victims of its past wrong doings," the statement said.

The joint statement urged Japanese politicians and government officials to discontinue glorifying its wartime past and apologize for its military aggression.

The North Korean government and civilian delegates arrived in Seoul on Sunday to attend joint celebration events commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Korean Peninsula's liberation from 36 years of Japanese colonial rule.

The North Korean delegation, together with some 50,000 South Korean people, attended Sunday's opening ceremony of the "Independence, Peace and Reunification Festival."

On Monday, the North Korean delegation visited a prison built during the Japanese colonial rule.

The North Korean delegates are to return to Pyongyang on Wednesday.

(Xinhua News Agency August 16, 2005)