PYONGYANG, North Korea — Japan and North Korea emerged from landmark talks on establishing diplomatic ties Friday with sharply divergent views of what they agreed upon, with Tokyo dismissing claims it would compensate colonial abuses.

In a surprise move, the reclusive North's chief negotiator Jong Thae Hwa said Japan agreed to atone for its 35-year subjugation of the Korean Peninsula — just hours after the two sides issued a joint closing statement that only said they would discuss the issue.

"The two sides agreed that Japan will apologize for historical issues and provide compensation," Jong said. The main issue is "whether Japan keeps its promise," he said.

Kojiro Takano, Japan's top negotiator, looked surprised at a subsequent news conference when reporters questioned him about Jong's remarks. He said no such agreement had been reached.

A Foreign Ministry spokesman in Tokyo, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Jong's statement was "puzzling." It was unclear what effect the comments would have on the future of the negotiations.

The two sides agreed Friday to hold a second round of talks in late May in Tokyo. This week's negotiations to establish diplomatic ties were the first in eight years.

The North has repeatedly frustrated negotiating partners with unexpected reversals of position that have earned it a reputation for brinkmanship.

Negotiators were upbeat right after the talks closed, saying the two sides had reached a deeper understanding of each others' positions. Although Japanese officials reported no breakthroughs, they expressed optimism because the countries had at least listened to demands that have long divided them.

The joint statement said that the two sides agreed on "the need to continue talks on normalizing ties." In addition to another round of talks in Tokyo, there is a third session planned in Beijing or elsewhere in the near future.

But it was clear Friday that North Korea was in no mood to let up on the issue of Japan's 1910-1945 colonial rule, as Jong berated a group of Japanese reporters about the past.

"You must understand that your fathers and grandfathers subjected us to subhuman treatment," he said.

Singling out a journalist from a conservative Japanese newspaper, Jong told him: "You should study history more."

The official North Korean newspaper Rodong Sinmun carried a full page of stories about the talks, with headlines such as: "Japan Must Apologize and Compensate For The Past," and "Japan's Barbaric Pillaging of Cultural Treasures," referring to art works that Japan's colonial army allegedly had stolen.

Many people in North and South Korea deeply resent Japan more than half a century after its harsh colonial rule ended on the peninsula. Older Koreans recall how the Japanese forced women into prostitution and men into labor camps, and banned teaching of the Korean language in schools.

Despite the acrimony over historical issues, Yang Hyong Sop, the vice president of the Supreme People's Assembly, thanked Japan for agreeing last month to extend food aid to the North.

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North Korean officials also expressed hope that new Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, who was elected by Parliament this week after his predecessor Keizo Obuchi suffered a stroke, would continue working toward improving bilateral ties.

In reviving its negotiations with the North, Japan hopes to help draw the Stalinist state out of its isolation and boost stability in Asia.

Pyongyang, which has recently reached out to other countries to establish diplomatic relations, needs help from richer industrialized countries to feed its impoverished people and modernize its decaying infrastructure. But Japan is still concerned about a ballistic missile the North launched over Japan in 1998.

Japan is also demanding cooperation from the North about Japanese citizens who were allegedly kidnapped by the North in the 1970s to help Pyongyang train spies.

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