A Japanese court has ordered North Korea to pay compensation to four people who were persuaded decades ago to move there under a state-backed resettlement scheme.

The Tokyo District Court ruled on Monday that Pyongyang should pay 88 million yen, or about $570,000, to the plaintiffs. The court said their rights were violated after they were misled into believing North Korea was a “paradise on Earth”.

The plaintiffs told the court they faced harsh living conditions after arriving in North Korea, including forced labour and strict controls on movement. They later managed to escape.

The ruling is largely symbolic as North Korea has ignored the case for years and did not respond to court summons. Still, lawyers for the plaintiffs called the verdict historic, saying it marked a rare legal recognition of wrongdoing by Pyongyang.

More than 90,000 ethnic Koreans living in Japan moved to North Korea between 1959 and 1984 under the programme. Survivors say promises of free healthcare, education and jobs were not kept.

One of the plaintiffs, Eiko Kawasaki, moved to North Korea in 1960 at the age of 17 and escaped in 2003. She is now in her 80s.

A lower court had earlier rejected the claims, citing jurisdiction issues and time limits. That decision was overturned after an appeal.

Lawyers said enforcing the compensation order would be difficult, but the judgment itself was an important step toward justice.

With inputs from BBC