The Republic of Korea (ROK) 's supreme court on Tuesday ordered a Japanese firm to compensate four victims of forced labor during World War II, Yonhap reported.

The court upheld the damages claims filed by the four victims and ordered Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. (NSSM) to pay each victim 100 million won (around 87,720 US dollars). 

The ruling from the court provides effective closure to a long-pending case that began more than 13 years ago. 

The court ruled that the Japanese court's decision that dismissed the victims' claims was based on the disputable premise that its 1910-45 colonial rule of Korea was legal, which is contrary to the ROK Constitution.

It also maintained the previous ruling that the 1965 bilateral treaty signed between the ROK and Japan to settle colonial-era issues does not terminate individual rights to damages.