New Delhi, Jan. 27 -- A Japanese court on Monday held North Korea responsible for the human rights violations of four plaintiffs lured to the North by Pyongyang's postwar false promise of living in "paradise on Earth," ordering its government to pay them 22 million yen ($143,000) each, a decision welcomed by the survivors and their supporters as groundbreaking.

Kenji Fukuda, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said it was significant to win a court decision acknowledging North Korea's human rights violations. However, "the ruling is just a piece of paper and getting the compensation money is a challenge," he said.

'Paradise on Earth' was a land of no freedom and abuses

The Tokyo District Court ruled that the plaintiffs, both ethnic Koreans an...