Rapper PSY apologizes for anti-U.S. song

South Korean rapper and Internet sensation PSY is apologizing to Americans for participating in anti-U.S. protests several years ago.

Park Jae-sang, who performs as PSY, issued a statement yesterday after reports surfaced that he had participated in concerts protesting the U.S. military presence in South Korea during the early stages of the Iraq War.

At a 2004 concert, the "Gangnam Style" rapper performed a song with lyrics about "slowly and painfully" killing "Yankees" who have been torturing Iraqi captives and their families. In another protest, he smashed a model of a U.S. tank on stage.

"While I'm grateful for the freedom to express one's self, I've learned there are limits to what language is appropriate and I'm deeply sorry for how these lyrics could be interpreted," he wrote in the statement. "I will forever be sorry for any pain I have caused by those words."

The 34-year-old rapper says the protests were part of a "deeply emotional" reaction to the war and the death of two Korean schoolgirls, who were killed when a U.S. military vehicle hit them as they walked alongside the road.

PSY attended college in the United States and says he understands the sacrifices U.S. military members have made to protect South Korea and other nations. He has recently performed in front of servicemen and women.