Pyongyang, Aug 19 (IANS): North Korea on Wednesday slammed Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's statement marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, warning him "not to run wild for revival of militarism".

Abe's statement on the eve of the 70th anniversary "should have been full of deep remorse and heartfelt apology for the bloody crime-woven past which inflicted tremendous damage and sufferings on the Korean and other Asian peoples", Xinhua cited the official KCNA news agency as saying.

"Abe's 'statement' is a blatant challenge to the sovereignty and dignity of the DPRK, international justice and conscience of mankind," said a spokesman.

Pyongyang criticised Abe for "running the whole gamut of gimmick to bury the unprecedented hair-raising crimes into the oblivion of history".

It urged Abe to "unconditionally apologise" for Japan's past atrocities, make reparation and prevent the country from waging war again.

In his WWII statement issued on Friday, Abe failed to make a straightforward apology and only mentioned previous governments' apologies.