 Shii says North Korea is insincere by providing false material The Japanese government on December 8 announced that DNA tests showed that what North Korea in November handed to the Japanese government official as the cremated remains of Yokota Megumi abducted to that country in 1977 are not hers. The government lodged a protest with North Korea on the same day. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hosoda Hiroyuki at a news conference stated "North Korea's action is in violation of the 2002 Pyongyang Declaration which called for bilateral issues to be sincerely dealt with. Commenting on the government announcement, Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo on the same day criticized North Korea's response as being extremely irresponsible. Shii said, "Thorough investigation is necessary to determine why such things have happened." He went on to say that the places and persons involved should be thoroughly investigated to ascertain whether the confusion was intentional or not. As part of advice to the Japanese government, Shii said, "To establish the facts, it is not appropriate to shut the door for talks in haste." (end) |