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▼ Japan Expects Constructive Discussions at Inter-Korean Summit
- Category:Event
TOKYO - Japan expects there to be constructive discussions toward resolving various issues at the historic inter-Korean summit, the top government spokesman said Friday.
Japan hopes for progress toward the "comprehensive resolution of various challenges, such as abductions (of Japanese citizens), and nuclear and missile (development)," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a press conference.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government views the past abduction of Japanese nationals as a priority. In a phone conversation earlier this week, Abe requested South Korean President Moon Jae In to bring the issue up during the summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Katsunobu Kato, minister in charge of the abduction issue, said the government is paying attention to how the topic would be dealt with in the Moon-Kim summit, telling reporters, "Family members of the abductees are also watching with great interest."
The Japanese government officially recognizes 17 people as having been kidnapped by the North in the 1970s and 1980s. Five of them were returned in 2002, but North Korea insists eight have died and the other four never entered its territory.
Abe recently agreed with U.S. President Donald Trump to maintain "maximum pressure" on North Korea until it addresses concerns about its weapons of mass destruction and nuclear and missile development programs in a "complete, verifiable and irreversible" way. Trump is also expected to hold a summit with Kim by early June.
Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera stressed the need for "drawing concrete steps" from Pyongyang toward resolving the abduction, nuclear and missile issues.
Foreign Minister Taro Kono also said Japan and South Korea are constantly coordinating policies toward the North.
Kono is expected to pay a visit to South Korea in early May to meet with his counterpart Kang Kyung Wha and to be briefed by the South Korean side on the results of the summit, according to a government source.
"The South Korean government's contributions and efforts were a big factor in realizing this North-South summit, and I would like to express my respect for that," he added.
Meanwhile, relatives of Japanese nationals kidnapped by North Korea decades ago expressed hope that Friday's summit and a subsequent U.S.-North Korea summit will move forward the long-stalled abduction issue and ultimately lead to the return of their loved ones.
"I hope things will take a turn for the better," said Sakie Yokota, the 82-year-old mother of Megumi, who was abducted in 1977 at age 13. Yokota was watching live news reports on the historic summit taking place in the border village of Panmunjeom.
While expressing hope for an early resolution of the issue out of concern for the health of her 85-year-old husband Shigeru, Sakie Yokota said she is remaining level-headed in "seeing how things will unfold" given that North Korea has previously backtracked every time there were apparent signs of progress on the issue.
Shigeo Iizuka, the 79-year-old head of a group representing abductees' families, met with Abe last Sunday, calling on him to "respond effectively" to the rapidly changing situation to resolve the abduction issue. Iizuka's younger sister Yaeko Taguchi was kidnapped when she was 22.
Tokyo officially lists 17 of its citizens as having been abducted by North Korea and suspects Pyongyang's involvement in other disappearances.
Five of the 17 were repatriated to Japan in 2002 but no major progress has been made since then. Pyongyang maintains eight have died and the other four were never in the country.
At a rally held after the meeting with Abe, Nobuhiro Matsuki, 45, whose older brother Kaoru went missing at age 26, said he wants Pyongyang to retract its statement that some of the abductees are already dead. "My brother is now 64. I just wonder how he is feeling now," he said.
"We will not be able to reunite and hug each other or talk about the old days if they return after our health deteriorates. I cannot wait anymore," said Shoichi Osawa, 82, whose brother Takashi may have been abducted by North Korea when he was 27.
© KYODO
Japan hopes for progress toward the "comprehensive resolution of various challenges, such as abductions (of Japanese citizens), and nuclear and missile (development)," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a press conference.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government views the past abduction of Japanese nationals as a priority. In a phone conversation earlier this week, Abe requested South Korean President Moon Jae In to bring the issue up during the summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Katsunobu Kato, minister in charge of the abduction issue, said the government is paying attention to how the topic would be dealt with in the Moon-Kim summit, telling reporters, "Family members of the abductees are also watching with great interest."
The Japanese government officially recognizes 17 people as having been kidnapped by the North in the 1970s and 1980s. Five of them were returned in 2002, but North Korea insists eight have died and the other four never entered its territory.
Abe recently agreed with U.S. President Donald Trump to maintain "maximum pressure" on North Korea until it addresses concerns about its weapons of mass destruction and nuclear and missile development programs in a "complete, verifiable and irreversible" way. Trump is also expected to hold a summit with Kim by early June.
Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera stressed the need for "drawing concrete steps" from Pyongyang toward resolving the abduction, nuclear and missile issues.
Foreign Minister Taro Kono also said Japan and South Korea are constantly coordinating policies toward the North.
Kono is expected to pay a visit to South Korea in early May to meet with his counterpart Kang Kyung Wha and to be briefed by the South Korean side on the results of the summit, according to a government source.
"The South Korean government's contributions and efforts were a big factor in realizing this North-South summit, and I would like to express my respect for that," he added.
Meanwhile, relatives of Japanese nationals kidnapped by North Korea decades ago expressed hope that Friday's summit and a subsequent U.S.-North Korea summit will move forward the long-stalled abduction issue and ultimately lead to the return of their loved ones.
"I hope things will take a turn for the better," said Sakie Yokota, the 82-year-old mother of Megumi, who was abducted in 1977 at age 13. Yokota was watching live news reports on the historic summit taking place in the border village of Panmunjeom.
While expressing hope for an early resolution of the issue out of concern for the health of her 85-year-old husband Shigeru, Sakie Yokota said she is remaining level-headed in "seeing how things will unfold" given that North Korea has previously backtracked every time there were apparent signs of progress on the issue.
Shigeo Iizuka, the 79-year-old head of a group representing abductees' families, met with Abe last Sunday, calling on him to "respond effectively" to the rapidly changing situation to resolve the abduction issue. Iizuka's younger sister Yaeko Taguchi was kidnapped when she was 22.
Tokyo officially lists 17 of its citizens as having been abducted by North Korea and suspects Pyongyang's involvement in other disappearances.
Five of the 17 were repatriated to Japan in 2002 but no major progress has been made since then. Pyongyang maintains eight have died and the other four were never in the country.
At a rally held after the meeting with Abe, Nobuhiro Matsuki, 45, whose older brother Kaoru went missing at age 26, said he wants Pyongyang to retract its statement that some of the abductees are already dead. "My brother is now 64. I just wonder how he is feeling now," he said.
"We will not be able to reunite and hug each other or talk about the old days if they return after our health deteriorates. I cannot wait anymore," said Shoichi Osawa, 82, whose brother Takashi may have been abducted by North Korea when he was 27.
© KYODO
- April 27, 2018
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