ID :
12553
Tue, 07/15/2008 - 16:12
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/12553
The shortlink copeid
Japan wants N. Korea to hold talks on abduction reinvestigation pledge
TOKYO, July 15 (Kyodo) - Japan will again demand that North Korea hold talks on its pledge to reinvestigate cases of its abductions of Japanese nationals, Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said Monday.
''I do not understand why North Korea has not responded (to Japan's call), but we have continued seeking a progress on the abduction issue and we are going to strongly seek progress in the future,'' Machimura said at a news conference.
During talks involving chief delegates of six nations in Beijing last week, Japan's chief nuclear negotiator urged the North to promptly hold bilateral working-level talks on the abduction issue.
Machimura said North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan has told Akitaka Saiki, director general of the Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, that Kim will convey Japan's intention to the person in charge of the abduction issue.
The North Korean delegation included no officials handling Japanese affairs at the latest round of six-party talks held from Thursday to Saturday in Beijing.
On energy aid for North Korea, which the six countries except for Japan promised to deliver by the end of October in exchange for the North's commitment to finish disabling its Yongbyon nuclear complex, Machimura said whether Japan joins the scheme will depend on progress in talks between Japan and North Korea.
''On Japan's participation on economy, energy aid (to North Korea), we have said that we will not participate unless progress is seen on the abduction issue, and our stance is understood'' by other nations, Machimura said.
During the six-way talks, South Korean chief delegate Kim Sook, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs at the Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry, urged Japan to get involved in the aid scheme, saying he is dissatisfied that Japan is not taking part.
Kim made the remark to reporters after Saiki reiterated Japan's stance that progress on the abduction issue should come first during discussions at the six-party heads of delegation talks, which resumed Thursday for the first time since last September.
During a bilateral meeting of officials last month in Beijing, North Korea said it would reinvestigate the whereabouts of Japanese abductees. Earlier, it had said the abduction issue was settled.
In response, Japan said it would lift some of its sanctions on North Korea.
Japan says North Korea abducted at least 17 people in the 1970s and 1980s, and disputes over the emotional issue have been an obstacle to the normalization of ties between the two countries.
''I do not understand why North Korea has not responded (to Japan's call), but we have continued seeking a progress on the abduction issue and we are going to strongly seek progress in the future,'' Machimura said at a news conference.
During talks involving chief delegates of six nations in Beijing last week, Japan's chief nuclear negotiator urged the North to promptly hold bilateral working-level talks on the abduction issue.
Machimura said North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan has told Akitaka Saiki, director general of the Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, that Kim will convey Japan's intention to the person in charge of the abduction issue.
The North Korean delegation included no officials handling Japanese affairs at the latest round of six-party talks held from Thursday to Saturday in Beijing.
On energy aid for North Korea, which the six countries except for Japan promised to deliver by the end of October in exchange for the North's commitment to finish disabling its Yongbyon nuclear complex, Machimura said whether Japan joins the scheme will depend on progress in talks between Japan and North Korea.
''On Japan's participation on economy, energy aid (to North Korea), we have said that we will not participate unless progress is seen on the abduction issue, and our stance is understood'' by other nations, Machimura said.
During the six-way talks, South Korean chief delegate Kim Sook, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs at the Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry, urged Japan to get involved in the aid scheme, saying he is dissatisfied that Japan is not taking part.
Kim made the remark to reporters after Saiki reiterated Japan's stance that progress on the abduction issue should come first during discussions at the six-party heads of delegation talks, which resumed Thursday for the first time since last September.
During a bilateral meeting of officials last month in Beijing, North Korea said it would reinvestigate the whereabouts of Japanese abductees. Earlier, it had said the abduction issue was settled.
In response, Japan said it would lift some of its sanctions on North Korea.
Japan says North Korea abducted at least 17 people in the 1970s and 1980s, and disputes over the emotional issue have been an obstacle to the normalization of ties between the two countries.
