NEW YORK, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- America's National Broadcasting Company (NBC) has apologized for its analyst's remarks on South Korea's colonial history made during the live broadcasting of PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games opening ceremony.

"(Japan was) a country which occupied Korea from 1910 to 1945. But every Korean will tell you that Japan is a cultural and technical and economic example that has been so important to their own transformation," the analyst, Joshua Cooper Ramo, said Friday when introducing Japan's Olympic team.

Noting that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was in attendance at the opening ceremony, Ramo was trying to stress the importance of Abe's visit, the NBC reported.

Ramo's comment was "defending Japanese imperialism" in the eyes of some South Koreans, who organized a quick online petition demanding apology.

"We believe that staying silent is not an appropriate response to such ignorant, insensitive, and harmful information that defies the very spirit of peace, harmony, and human dignity of the Olympics," the online petition said.

The NBC delivered an on-air apology on Saturday, briefly saying that "we understand the Korean people were insulted by these comments and we apologize."

As the company said in a statement on Sunday that the PyeongChang 2018 Organizing Committee accepted its written apology, petitioners called for "a more specific and genuine apology."

Having collected the signatures of more than 14,500 supporters, the petition was updated with a new announcement on Monday, saying Ramo's words not only affected the feelings of Korean people.

"The NBC should apologize, instead, to all viewers who deserve honest journalism, accountability, and common sense history," the petition read.

U.S. media reported that Ramo's assignment ended with the opening ceremony, while some said Ramo could be fired for the incident.