Shii: Peaceful talks is the way to deal with North Korea's nuclear development program

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo says that the issue of North Korea's nuclear development needs to be dealt with through peaceful talks instead of invoking sanctions conducive to increasing military tensions. He was answering questions on NHK's political discussion program aired on January 5.

North Korea has recently removed seals from its nuclear-related facilities and threatened to secede from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Shii said, "North Korea must abandon its nuclear development program and the need now is for the Japanese government to deal with it through talks. But sanctions or repressive measures conducive increasing military tensions must be avoided. This is also the position of South Korea's president-elect.

Shii made the point that Japan is concerned in this affair, citing the fact that Japan and North Korea in the Pyongyang Declaration pledged compliance with all international treaties related to nuclear weapons. He said, "North Korea is acting in violation of treaty obligations. Japan needs to be well aware of its obligation to discuss the problem with North Korea to stop violations of the agreement."

Shii also stressed the importance of treating the issue of North Korea's nuclear development as part of the effort to achieve peace and stability in Northeast Asia.

Shii said that the Japanese government should always try to negotiate with North Korea with the view to resolve various problems comprehensively, including the issues of North Korea's abductions of Japanese nationals and the historical issue of Japan's colonization of Korea.

He said, "It is certainly important to solve the abduction problem through negotiations. But talks on this particular question can only make progress when dealt with as part of the effort to seek a comprehensive solution to the issues of nuclear weapons and the historical issue of Japan's colonial rule over Korea." (end)