JCP Shii comments on 6-party talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons program

The six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons program ended on February 28 in Beijing after Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi delivered the chairman's statement to summarize the four-day discussion.

On the same day, Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo published the following statement on the second round of the six-party talks:

The six-party talks ended with a statement read by the chairman, reconfirming that the parties maintain the objective of achieving a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula and a peaceful resolution of the problem through dialogue. They also agreed to meet again by late June and to establish a working group. The JCP welcomes the result as a contribution to the strengthening of the framework of the six-party talks.

Concerning the main issue of "denuclearialization of North Korea", major differences persist. The JCP has stated that the resolution of this issue is essential to the peace and security of East Asia, and urged North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons development plan. The JCP hopes that the working group will discuss in concrete terms how denuclearization is carried out and verified and how security should be guaranteed in response to North Korea's demand in a way that will promote the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula under international rules and supervision.

Japan and North Korea held their bilateral talks focusing on the issue of abduction of Japanese nationals, but no concrete progress was made concerning the return of family members of the five abductees who returned to Japan in 2002. However, international understanding of the importance of the resolution of the abduction issue has increased to some extent and Japanese and North Korean representatives held discussions during the six-party talks and confirmed their willingness to continue the discussion. This is progress. (end)