Japan must contribute to peaceful resolution of North Korea issue: JCP

At the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee meeting on February 18, Japanese Communist Party representative Akamine Seiken called on the government to redouble its efforts to achieve a peaceful solution to the North Korea issue from three points of view.

First, he reminded the committee that the August 2003 six-party talks on the North Korea question agreed to continue discussions aimed at "solving the crisis in a peaceful manner through dialogue" and "refraining from taking any action that could worsen the crisis."

Second, concerning the issue of the abduction by North Korea of Japanese nationals, he reiterated the JCP demand that North Korea investigate the truth of the matter, severely punish those responsible for the abductions, apologize and pay compensation to abductees' families, and sincerely work for the return of abductees to Japan.

"The task now is to demand that the abduction issue be treated as part of the numerous lawless cross-border activities which North Korea is responsible for, and that the international community unite to urge North Korea to settle the accounts of such activities," Akamine said.

The third point Akamine raised was the issue of establishing diplomatic relations between Japan and North Korea.

Stressing that Japan has a historical duty to settle the accounts of its past colonization of the Korean Peninsula, he said that there can be no stability established in Northeast Asia unless Japan and North Korea establish diplomatic relations.

The Foreign Ministry's Asia Oceanic Bureau director in answer said, "Japan will deal with North Korea's nuclear, missile, and abduction issues in a package in accordance with the 2002 Japan-North Korea Pyongyang Declaration."

In conclusion, Akamine urged the government to increase its efforts based on the existing six-point agreement of the talks so that calm and steady discussions will take place in the upcoming six-party talks scheduled for February 25. (end)