South Korea’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) is set to officially recognize the execution of approximately 1,000 people by North Korean forces during the Korean War as a “massacre” and urge Seoul to demand an apology from Pyongyang and implement compensation measures for the victims’ families, a TRC spokesperson confirmed to NK News.

The move follows an investigation by TRC that was based on a report from the U.S. Far East Command’s Korean War Crimes Division which contains testimonies from North Korean prisoners and eyewitnesses. The TRC’s investigation reportedly verified the incident by conducting on-site investigations and cross-referencing with written records.