South Korean President Moon Jae In said Thursday a postwar agreement that led to normalization of diplomatic ties with Japan should not infringe on the rights of Koreans seeking compensation for forced labor during its 1910-1945 colonial rule.

"Despite an agreement between the two countries, an individual forced into labor still has a civil right against the company, and that's our Constitutional Court's and Supreme Court's judicial precedents," Moon said during a press conference marking his 100th day in office.

"That's our government position" on the forced labor issue, Moon added. He was referring to a 1965 agreement that Japan says settled all postwar compensation claims.

Japan maintains that issues relating to its rule over the Korean Peninsula, including reparations and claims by individuals, were settled with South Korea under the treaty.

But over the past few years, a string of court rulings in South Korea have decided in favor of forced laborers seeking damages from Japanese companies involved, following a landmark May 2012 decision by the Supreme Court.

Reversing previous court decisions, the top court ruled that the right of former forced laborers and their families to seek withheld wages and compensation was not invalidated by the 1965 agreement.

In a speech on Tuesday's National Liberation Day, which marked the country's 72nd anniversary of the end of Japan's colonial rule, Moon urged Japanese leaders to be bold and take steps to resolve the issues of forced labor by Koreans as well as Korean women forced into wartime brothels for the Japanese military.

"It is necessary for Japanese leaders to take a courageous attitude" in resolving these issues, he said.

It is rare for South Korean presidents to publicly touch on the issue of forced labor, which has not been raised in recent years.

==Kyodo