Japan yesterday demanded North Korea promptly report the results of its probe into the Cold War kidnappings of Japanese citizens as the two nations began talks in China.
The meeting of senior officials in Shenyang came after Tokyo announced in July it was easing sanctions against Pyongyang following North Korea’s promise to reinvestigate the abductions of Japanese.
Japanese officials had expected the report by this month, but North Korea recently said it was currently unable to supply substantial details.
“We believe North Korea should promptly conduct a comprehensive, all-out investigation into abduction victims and all other Japanese nationals and quickly report the results,” Japanese delegation head Junichi Ihara said at the start of the one-day talks.
His North Korean counterpart, Song Il-ho, said the meeting was not meant to report the results of the investigation, but to assess what activity both sides have been involved in since July and clarify their current stances.
North Korea admitted in 2002 that it had kidnapped 13 Japanese to train its spies. Five of the abductees returned home, but Pyongyang said — without producing credible evidence — that the eight others had died.
Glyn Davies, US special representative on North Korea policy, yesterday voiced support for Japan’s effort to get back abductees while stressing the need to keep the dialogue transparent in a bid to maintain pressure on Pyongyang to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.
“We very much support the efforts of the government in Japan to seek to resolve this humanitarian issue,” Davies told reporters in Beijing.
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