Japan's highest court ruled Tuesday that South Korean A-bomb victims residing in their homeland are entitled to full compensation from local authorities in Japan.

In a landmark decision, it upheld the ruling by lower courts, putting an end to a four-year lawsuit against the Osaka prefectural government by Lee Hong-hyun and the surviving family members of two other Korean victims of the Hiroshima and Nakasaki atomic bombings.

Lee, 69, is the son of a Korean victim of the 1945 bombing and he was reportedly exposed to radiation in his mother's womb.

It marked the first time that a Japanese court has ordered full compensation for A-bomb victims living outside of Japan. It is expected to affect similar legal fights. (Yonhap)