Clinton tells families N. Korea abduction issue is U.S. priority+

TOKYO, Feb. 17 Kyodo -
Visiting U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday met relatives of
Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea in the past and pledged to help
Japan resolve the issue, calling it a priority for the United States.

The families expressed their hopes and expectations for the role of the new
U.S. administration in resolving the abduction issue after the meeting, with
Shigeru Yokota, the 76-year-old father of abductee Megumi Yokota, saying, ''The
secretary of state stressed that she has not forgotten about the abduction
issue.''
Clinton, who met relatives of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea in the
1970s and 1980s at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, said the abduction issue should
be a priority for the United States, according to Shigeo Iizuka, brother of
abductee Yaeko Taguchi.
Clinton also said it may be difficult to solve the issue on a bilateral level,
calling for the involvement of multiple countries, according to Iizuka, 70, who
heads a group representing the families of Japanese abductees.
Clinton said she will study how the United States can ''pressure'' the North to
return the abductees while also mentioning the importance of ''discussion,''
according to Iizuka.
During the 30-minute meeting, Shigeru and Sakie Yokota, 73, the mother of
Megumi -- who was taken to North Korea from Niigata in 1977 when she was 13 --
and Iizuka showed pictures of their abducted family members and handed Clinton
a letter from the families and a support group.
In the letter, the families and supporters said, ''International pressure
against the North, particularly from the United States, is indispensable to any
resolution of the issue.''
Although the families believe rescuing the Japanese abductees is primarily the
task of the Japanese government, they consider U.S. support as essential and
said re-listing North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism would be especially
meaningful.
''We told (Clinton) we were deeply disappointed by the previous U.S.
administration's premature delisting of North Korea from the State Department
terrorism list,'' said Iizuka.
Clinton replied that she will tackle the issue after conducting thorough
research, without elaborating further, according to Iizuka.
Clinton had earlier expressed sympathy for the abductees and their relatives
and said she would meet with the families as a wife, mother, daughter and
sibling.
''I know the abductee issue is of great concern here in Japan and I will be
meeting with families later today to express my personal sympathy and our
concern about what happened to those who were abducted,'' Clinton told a press
conference before the meeting with the families of the abductees.
According to Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone, Japan asked the
United States for the meeting based on requests from the families to meet with
the secretary of state.
Prior to meeting with Clinton on Tuesday, Nakasone said he will seek the new
U.S. administration's support for Japan in resolving the abduction issue.
The U.S. State Department said earlier the meeting would show that Washington
remains concerned about the issue under the administration of President Barack
Obama.
George W. Bush, Obama's predecessor, was known for his interest in the issue
and sympathy for abductees' relatives. He invited Sakie Yokota to the White
House in April 2006.
Relatives of Taguchi, Iizuka's sister who was abducted in 1978, are expected to
meet soon with Kim Hyon Hui, a former North Korean agent who is believed to
have been taught Japanese by Taguchi.
==Kyodo