JCP Ichida comments on Japan-North Korea talks Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Ichida Tadayoshi on August 12 published the following comment on the Japan-North Korea working-level talks held on August 11-12 in Beijing: During the Japan-North Korea working-level talks that ended on August 12 in Beijing, both sides discussed the issues of North Korea's abduction of Japanese citizens and its nuclear development as well as missile programs. However, North Korea did not provide Japan with any new information concerning 10 Japanese abductees who are still unaccounted for. Reinvestigation of these missing Japanese abductees, which was promised by Kim Jong-il during the Japan-North Korea summit last May, must not be delayed unnecessarily. North Korea must carry out the re-investigation and offer new information about the fate of the abductees without delay. We hope that the Japanese and North Korean governments will continue their efforts to develop bilateral talks in order to solve pending issues between our two countries. (end) |