“But when it came to the need to protect them from the evil colonial hands of Japan, no one was in dispute”

Kyopos spin the story to meet their anti-Japanese message.

Oh please, read the whole article, and it’s clear that the writer Jack Kim, while reporting the facts, signals that he knows what NK and the u. idiots are up to. E.g.

North Korea’s official media and several leading politicians in South Korea seldom miss the chance to criticize Japan for failing to pay what they see as proper contrition for its colonial rule that included forced labor, front-line brothels and attempts to end the Korean language.

Note the phrases “Seldom miss the chance” and “what they see as,” implying that the criticism is (or may be) mindless and spurious.