ID :
204636
Wed, 08/31/2011 - 19:02
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/204636
The shortlink copeid
N. Korea urges new Japan leader to take action to improve ties+
PYONGYANG, Aug. 31 Kyodo -
A North Korean official in charge of Japanese affairs on Wednesday urged Japan's incoming Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda to take action to improve bilateral relations, which he described as being at the ''worst'' level given Japan's sanctions on the country.
''If a new Noda government moves toward improvement (of ties), we are ready to move accordingly,'' Kim Chol Ho, vice director of the Foreign Ministry's Asian Affairs Department, said in an interview with Kyodo News and three other Japanese news organizations in Pyongyang.
Kim expressed a cautious stance toward a Noda Cabinet, expected to be launched later this week or early next week. North Korea has expressed disappointment with the ruling Democratic Party of Japan's policy toward Pyongyang, claiming it is doing little to improve ties.
''We will keep closely watching Japan's policy toward (North) Korea under a new Cabinet,'' he said.
His comments mark North Korea's first reaction to the new Japanese government.
''The Japanese side should consider how to improve the soured atmosphere (of relations) between (North) Korea and Japan,'' Kim said, indirectly urging Tokyo to lift the sanctions it imposed on Pyongyang after the North's first nuclear test in October 2006.
Kim criticized Japan for extending bilateral sanctions against Pyongyang for another year in April and accused it of oppressing the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, or Chongryon, which serves as a de facto government mission for North Korea in Japan in the absence of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
The sanctions include a ban on North Korean nationals from entering Japan and a ban on North Korean ships from making port calls in Japan.
Kim stressed North Korea's position that it has settled issues regarding its abduction of Japanese nationals in the 1970s and 1980s, and said Pyongyang no longer wants to discuss them with Tokyo.
''The abduction issue was settled through our sincere efforts,'' he said. ''We have nothing to talk about the abduction issue with the Japanese side.''
The vice director said Japan does not want to admit that the issue, which prevents the two countries from normalizing diplomatic relations, has been settled.
Meanwhile, Kim denied news reports that Hiroshi Nakai, a former Japanese state minister in charge of the abduction issue, secretly met with Song Il Ho, North Korea's ambassador for normalization talks with Japan, in the northeastern Chinese city of Changchun in July.
''I did not hear that (the two) had met,'' he said. ''The ambassador said he has never met (with Nakai).''
Japan and North Korea have not held inter-governmental talks since the last round in Shenyang, northeastern China, in August 2008.
Asked what he thinks of Kim Jong Un, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's heir apparent, Kim Chol Ho said, ''The comrade is very modest, he does not stick to formality, and he excels in both academics and sports.''
A North Korean official in charge of Japanese affairs on Wednesday urged Japan's incoming Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda to take action to improve bilateral relations, which he described as being at the ''worst'' level given Japan's sanctions on the country.
''If a new Noda government moves toward improvement (of ties), we are ready to move accordingly,'' Kim Chol Ho, vice director of the Foreign Ministry's Asian Affairs Department, said in an interview with Kyodo News and three other Japanese news organizations in Pyongyang.
Kim expressed a cautious stance toward a Noda Cabinet, expected to be launched later this week or early next week. North Korea has expressed disappointment with the ruling Democratic Party of Japan's policy toward Pyongyang, claiming it is doing little to improve ties.
''We will keep closely watching Japan's policy toward (North) Korea under a new Cabinet,'' he said.
His comments mark North Korea's first reaction to the new Japanese government.
''The Japanese side should consider how to improve the soured atmosphere (of relations) between (North) Korea and Japan,'' Kim said, indirectly urging Tokyo to lift the sanctions it imposed on Pyongyang after the North's first nuclear test in October 2006.
Kim criticized Japan for extending bilateral sanctions against Pyongyang for another year in April and accused it of oppressing the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, or Chongryon, which serves as a de facto government mission for North Korea in Japan in the absence of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
The sanctions include a ban on North Korean nationals from entering Japan and a ban on North Korean ships from making port calls in Japan.
Kim stressed North Korea's position that it has settled issues regarding its abduction of Japanese nationals in the 1970s and 1980s, and said Pyongyang no longer wants to discuss them with Tokyo.
''The abduction issue was settled through our sincere efforts,'' he said. ''We have nothing to talk about the abduction issue with the Japanese side.''
The vice director said Japan does not want to admit that the issue, which prevents the two countries from normalizing diplomatic relations, has been settled.
Meanwhile, Kim denied news reports that Hiroshi Nakai, a former Japanese state minister in charge of the abduction issue, secretly met with Song Il Ho, North Korea's ambassador for normalization talks with Japan, in the northeastern Chinese city of Changchun in July.
''I did not hear that (the two) had met,'' he said. ''The ambassador said he has never met (with Nakai).''
Japan and North Korea have not held inter-governmental talks since the last round in Shenyang, northeastern China, in August 2008.
Asked what he thinks of Kim Jong Un, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's heir apparent, Kim Chol Ho said, ''The comrade is very modest, he does not stick to formality, and he excels in both academics and sports.''
