ISTANBUL

A Tokyo court on Monday ordered North Korea to pay 88 million yen (about $572,000) in damages to four North Korean defectors and surviving family members living in Japan, citing alleged human rights violations linked to a decades-old repatriation program.

The plaintiffs argued that individuals who relocated to North Korea through the repatriation program were prevented from leaving the country afterward, according to Jiji Press.

They said Pyongyang promoted the repatriation initiative by presenting North Korea as a "heaven on earth," promising access to basic necessities such as food, clothing and housing.

Presiding Judge Taiichi Kamino of the Tokyo court said the case involved ongoing illegal acts by the North Korean government against the plaintiffs.

"It's not an exaggeration to say that they were deprived of most of their lives," Kamino said.

He added that those who relocated to North Korea were forced to endure harsh living conditions for long periods because authorities did not allow them to leave freely.

North Korea launched the resettlement program in 1959 to attract overseas Koreans to address labor shortages following the Korean War.

At the time, Japan’s government regarded ethnic Koreans as outsiders and supported the initiative, leading to the relocation of more than 93,000 ethnic Korean residents, along with their Japanese family members.