U.S. delisting of N. Korea no obstacle to abduction issue: Aso

TOKYO, Oct. 12 Kyodo -
The U.S. delisting of North Korea from its list of state sponsors of terrorism
would not pose an impediment to resolving the issue of Pyongyang's past
abductions of Japanese nationals, Prime Minister Taro Aso said Sunday.
''We would be able to hold sufficient discussions on the abductions in the
process of negotiations to come. It does not mean a loss of leverage,'' Aso
told reporters in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture.
He showed some understanding of the removal, saying he believes that Washington
''used the delisting'' as a diplomatic tactic to win concessions from Pyongyang
in negotiations over the verification measures for its nuclear activities.
''I understand that they took the step, considering it would be better than
leaving an issue totally immovable...it's one way.''
Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone released a statement earlier Sunday in
response to Washington's removal of Pyongyang from its list of
terrorism-sponsoring states.
''Japan will do its utmost, in close cooperation with the United States and
other countries concerned, to push forward Japan-North Korea relations,
including the abduction issue, alongside the nuclear issue,'' Nakasone said in
the statement.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura, who is minister in charge of the
abduction issue, said Sunday, ''Japan has no reluctance to cooperate in the
denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. At the same time, we have a strong
feeling that the abduction issue should not be left out. We will take up the
issue without fail in the six-party talks.''
Foreign Minister Nakasone also expressed hopes of cooperating with other
members of the six-party talks to adopt an agreement at an early date on the
specifics of a protocol for verifying North Korea's nuclear programs and
facilities based on a deal reached between the United States and North Korea.
''Japan believes that in order to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, which is
the goal of the six-party talks, it is extremely important to build a concrete
framework for effective verification,'' Nakasone said.
Kawamura told reporters in Tokyo, ''Our policy on the abduction issue will not
be set back even by one step. They must set up a responsible reinvestigation
committee as early as possible.''
North Korea has yet to act on its promise to launch a committee to
reinvestigate the abductions.
Tokyo had urged the United States to refrain from taking North Korea off the
list of terrorist-sponsoring states until progress had been made on the issue
of the abductions of Japanese by Pyongyang's agents in the 1970s and 1980s.
But the United States announced Saturday its removal of North Korea from the
list for the first time in 20 years in light of progress on the
denuclearization process, saying that Pyongyang agreed to a series of measures
to verify its nuclear activities.
Nakasone noted in the statement that U.S. President George W. Bush expressed to
Japanese Prime Minister Aso in a phone call prior to the announcement his
understanding of the strong concerns among the Japanese public and his sympathy
with the families of the missing abductees.
The six-party nuclear talks involve the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and
the United States.
==Kyodo