The North Korean author Paek Nam Ryong has said he was left in the dark about the publication of his award-winning novel “Friend” in the U.S., calling for the publisher to respect the copyrights of DPRK writers.

In an interview with the pro-DPRK Japanese outlet Choson Sinbo, Paek said he was “very happy” to see that his 1988 book had been translated into English and won a literary award from a U.S. magazine.

But the author, whose name is sometimes spelled Paek Nam-nyong, added that the New York-based publisher never informed him of its intention to release the translation