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    PYONGYANG, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has demanded Japan pay for the crimes it committed during its colonial rule on the Korean Peninsula, according to a leading official newspaper on Tuesday.

    "Their (Japanese) 40-odd year-long colonial rule was the unheard-of fascist rule to obliterate the soul and resourcefulness of the Korean nation," said a signed article carried in Rodong Sinmun, the leading official newspaper.

    "Japan is the sworn enemy of the Korean people," the newspaper said, adding that "it is the firm will of the Korean people to settle accounts with Japan at any cost."

    Tuesday marks the 61st anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule.

    The newspaper also accused Japan of driving the DPRK-Japan relations to a dangerous level by escalating its "preemptive attack" policy against the DPRK.

    "Their theory of preemptive attack on the DPRK is a move as dangerous as a declaration of war to reinvade Korea," said the newspaper.

    Japan's colonial rule in the Korean Peninsula resulted in 8.4 million slave workers kidnapped from Korea to Japan and 200,000 women forced to serve the Japanese army as sex slaves. Enditem