Uploaded by C. Y. Lee on Saturday, April 1, 2006
Japan urges N. Korea to investigate suspected abductees
Friday March 31, 8:30 PM
(Kyodo) _ Japan has provided Pyongyang with details on a number of missing Japanese citizens who a private organization suspects may have been abducted by North Korea, and has urged it to investigate their whereabouts, Japanese officials said Friday.
Tokyo provided North Korea with the information through a diplomatic channel, the officials said.
The move comes after North Korea told Japan during bilateral talks in Beijing on Feb. 4-8 that it would investigate the issue of the missing Japanese on condition that Tokyo provide relevant information, they said.
Tokyo and Pyongyang conducted the Feb. 4-8 talks under a new three-track format of separately addressing diplomatic normalization, the abduction and security issues, but made no progress on key issues including the abduction, which has been a barrier to Japan and North Korea normalizing diplomatic relations.
Upon returning to Japan, Kunio Umeda, head of the Japanese delegation in charge of dealing with the abduction issue, told abduction victims' relatives that Japan had given North Korea the names of 36 people who a private group that investigates missing persons suspects were abducted.
Japan officially recognizes that North Korea abducted 16 Japanese nationals during the 1970s and 80s. Five of the abductees have returned to Japan, and Tokyo has been demanding Pyongyang hand over the rest.
Of the 11, Pyongyang claims eight have died since entering North Korea and the remaining three never entered the country.
(End)
03-31-2006, 07:24 PM
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