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2018 April 4 - 10 TOP3 [POLITICS]

JCP Chair Shii meets with PM Abe to discuss North Korea issue

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo on April 9 had a talk with Prime Minister Abe Shinzo in the Diet building and said, "I hope you will commit yourself to the recently-commenced process of working for a 'peaceful solution through dialogue' over the issue of North Korea's nuclear and missile programs."

Shii handed to Abe copies of the written request the JCP sent to six relevant countries titled, "For efforts to denuclearize Korean Peninsula and build peace structure in integrated and phased manner."

In that statement, the JCP proposes that the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the building of permanent peace in Northeast Asia be promoted in an integrated and comprehensive manner. It also proposes that all parties concerned discuss measures that they can agree upon and to implement them one by one in a step-by-step manner so that they will move steadily toward the goal.

Abe said, "Fundamentally, our principle is to find a diplomatic settlement through dialogue. The international community has maximized its pressure which created the condition where North Korea itself has come to seek negotiations with its denuclearization as an assumed goal. It is important for Japan, the U.S., South Korea, China, and Russia to take this opportunity to tackle this issue together." Abe added, "As written in your statement, we will continue to impose economic sanctions until North Korea takes concrete actions (to denuclearize itself). Comprehensively solving the abduction issue is also important."

Shii touched on the fact that North Korea repeatedly had carried out nuclear-weapons tests and launched ballistic missiles in violation of the September 2005 Six-Party agreement, and said, "Clearly, North Korea is to blame for the fundamental cause of the ongoing difficulty." "At the same time," Shii continued, "it is also a fact that the United States froze North Korea-linked bank accounts immediately after the Six-Party agreement which provoked North Korea to conduct nuclear weapons and missile tests. It is necessary to calmly verify all the measures taken and not taken so far."

Shii pointed out that North Korea has promised to freeze its nuclear tests, and that the United States has scaled back on the U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises. Stressing the importance of continuing to follow this path, he again said, "I hope the Japanese government will commit itself to contributing to the process of resolution through dialogue."

Abe in response said, "We will carefully consider your proposal."

Past related articles:
> JCP welcomes move to hold US-North Korea summit talks [March 10, 218]
> JCP strongly condemns North Korea’s ballistic missile launch and again calls for immediate direct talks to overcome the current crisis [November 30, 2017]