Japan, U.S. warn N. Korea against launch, urge resolution of abductions+

TOKYO, March 6 Kyodo -
(EDS: RECASTING THROUGHOUT WITH BOSWORTH QUOTES, OTHER DETAILS)
Japan and the United States renewed their warning Friday for North Korea to
refrain from launching a rocket, with new U.S. special representative Stephen
Bosworth reiterating that whether the launch is for a satellite or a missile
''makes no difference'' and the allies will ''respond in a common fashion''
should Pyongyang go ahead with such a provocative act.
Bosworth, wrapping up his visit to Tokyo, told Japanese parliamentarians
earlier Friday of his hopes to visit North Korea at an early date. He told
reporters afterward that he has no plans to do so on his current Asia trip but
that he assumes he will ''at some time.''
The special envoy also reassured Japan of the new U.S. administration's support
for Tokyo in pressing North Korea to come clean about its abductions of
Japanese nationals, saying, ''My government continues to express strong
solidarity with Japan on this subject.''
''We agree very strongly that it would be best if North Korea did not fire a
missile,'' Bosworth told reporters. ''Whether it is a satellite launch or a
missile, for us it makes no difference.''
Noting that President Barack Obama's administration is in the ''final stages''
of reviewing Washington's policy on North Korea, Bosworth said the six-party
talks remain the ''central element'' in U.S. handling of issues related to the
Korean Peninsula and that it is important to move the stalled negotiations
forward.
On the abductions, Bosworth emphasized that it is ''primarily'' an issue
between North Korea and Japan but added, ''I think that in time, if we continue
to talk to them about it, I have some degree of confidence that we can find
solutions.''
Bosworth, a former U.S. ambassador to South Korea and current dean of the
Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, visited North Korea
as a private citizen in early February before he was named as Obama's point man
on North Korea policy.
Bosworth did not specify a date for his next trip to North Korea, but told the
parliamentarians that the visit would be to stop Pyongyang from launching the
missile.
He was also quoted by the Diet members as saying that in the event of such a
launch, the United States and others will discuss their response at the United
Nations.
How the new U.S. administration approaches North Korea is of great concern to
Japan, which was upset last year when former President George W. Bush removed
North Korea from its blacklist of state sponsors of terrorism before Pyongyang
properly addressed the unresolved cases of its abductions of Japanese citizens.
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura, at the outset of his talks
with Bosworth on Friday evening, called on the envoy for close cooperation not
only on the North Korean nuclear and missile issues but also the abduction
problem.
''Abduction is a serious human rights issue involving a nation's sovereignty
and the lives and security of its people,'' Kawamura told Bosworth. ''Japan
would like to make it a top priority to have all the victims returned as soon
as possible.''
Bosworth and Akitaka Saiki, Japan's chief delegate at the six-party talks,
affirmed Thursday a shared consensus that a possible rocket launch by North
Korea, be it a missile or what Pyongyang claims to be a satellite, would be a
violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions.
Bosworth, who stopped in Beijing on the first leg of his Asia trip before
visiting Japan, also agreed with Chinese officials that such a launch was ''not
a good idea.''
North Korea has declared it is ready to put its Kwangmyongsong-2 experimental
communications satellite into space. It says the satellite will be carried by
the launch vehicle Unha-2, which outside experts believe is a redesigned
Taepodong-2 missile.
The denuclearization talks involving North and South Korea, China, Japan,
Russia and the United States have been stalled since December due to
differences over ways to verify North Korea's nuclear activities.
Bosworth will travel to Seoul on Saturday. In addition to meeting South Korean
officials, he will also hold talks with a Russian delegation who will be
visiting South Korea at the same time, he said.
==Kyodo
2009-03-06 21:26:56