 Government officials return from talks with North Korea on Japanese abductees Japanese officials returned on November 15 from Pyongyang after talks with North Korean officials on 10 missing Japanese nationals believed to be abducted by North Korea. At a press conference, the officials stated that North Korea repeated the same explanation about the 10 missing Japanese: eight of them died and two of them never entered the country. The government will carry out a DNA test on bones the Japanese delegation brought back from Pyongyang. The officials were told by the North Korean side that the remains belong to Yokota Megumi, one of the 10 missing Japanese citizens. Mitoji Yabunaka, director general of the Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau who led the Japanese delegation, emphasized the need for a careful examination of items brought back and interviews conducted in Pyongyang by the Japanese delegation because a number of points remain to be cleared up. In a published statement on the same day, Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo stressed the need for the government to carefully examine the documents provided by North Korea during the talks, continue the investigation, and make efforts to find out the truth of the matter. Shii stated that the JCP demands the continuation of talks between the two governments in order to resolve the abduction issue. Prime Minister Koizumi Jun'ichiro said that talks with North Korea should be continued, adding that he is not considering imposing economic sanctions against North Korea at this time.(end) |