north korea

Japan Press Service Co., Ltd. is the only news agency providing information of progressive, democratic movements in Japan

Government should take concrete measures in talks with North Korea: JCP lawmaker

Japanese Communist Party representative Kasai Akira in the House of Representatives has demanded that the Japanese government urge the North Korean government to take effective steps so that pending issues will be resolved swiftly in negotiations with North Korea scheduled for February 4.

Kasai was speaking on January 28 at the House of Representatives special committee on abduction of Japanese nationals by North Korea. The bilateral talks aimed at normalizing diplomatic relations that have been suspended since October 2002.

As agreed on at the December 2005 Beijing meeting, the two countries in the upcoming meeting will discuss the following three issues: the abduction and other pending issues; nuclear, missile, and other security-related matters, and the normalization of diplomatic relations between the two countries that includes "settlement of the historical questions."

Foreign Minister Aso Taro stated Kasai that unless the abduction issue is dissolved, there will be no progress in the effort to normalize bilateral diplomatic relations.

Stressing that "unless the other side (North Korea), which has committed all sorts of lawlessness, sits at the table, there will be no progress," Kasai asked, "How does the government regard relations between the bilateral talks and the six-party talks?"

Aso said, "They are two wheels of a car supplementing each other.

Concerning the issue of North Korea's abduction of Japanese nationals, Kasai demanded that the Japanese government urge North Korea to appoint negotiators with greater accountability regarding the role of the North Korean "special agency" in the abductions.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Abe Shinzo said, ﾒIt would be essential for North Korea to establish a truth commission authorized to carry out investigation into the ﾔspecial agency.ﾕﾓ

"The Japanese government will engage in talks with North Korea based on the spirit of the Japan-U.S. Pyongyang Declaration (of September 17, 2002)," Abe said.
- Akahata, January 29, 2006