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Japan hopes dashed over abducteesOfficials say they will keep pressing N Korea for answers
TOKYO, Japan -- Hopes that the six-nation talks over North Korea's nuclear program would also shed light on the fate of kidnapped Japanese citizens have come to nothing, officials in Tokyo have said. During bilateral meetings in Beijing Thursday on the sidelines of the nuclear talks, envoys from the two countries clashed over the fate of several Japanese citizens still unaccounted for and over relatives of five returnees still held in North Korea. Instead, Japanese officials say, the North Korean side accused Tokyo of breaking promises to send back five Japanese after what was supposed to be a temporary homecoming last October. "The North Korean side reiterated their stance that the five should have been returned to the North," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo told reporters in the Japanese capital. "We want a more positive response and will continue to strongly demand that," he added. Although the meetings included Japanese calls for the North to abandon its nuclear program, for many in Japan the kidnappings are at least as sensitive and pressing an issue. Many suspect the North is using the issue to extract economic aid from Japan or an official apology for wartime atrocities committed by the Japanese army during their occupation of Korea in the 1930s and 40s. North Korea admitted last September that its agents had kidnapped 13 Japanese citizens in the 1970s and early 1980s as part of a bizarre Cold War intelligence gathering exercise to train North Korean spies. Some were kidnapped while walking home from school, others snatched while running errands or driving around on dates. Emotional issue
The issue has become one of the most emotional obstacles to any normalization of ties between Japan and North Korea and officials had been keen to use the Beijing talks to press their case with the North Korean delegation. According to Pyongyang eight of the abductees died during their years in North Korea, but in October 2002 the remaining five survivors were allowed to return home for the first time. They have all since opted to remain in Japan, but their families remain in North Korea -- including the American husband of one, a man listed as a U.S. military deserter who defected to North Korea in the 1960s. During 40 minutes of talks Thursday Japanese envoy Mitoji Yabunaka urged his North Korean counterpart, Kim Yong Il, to allow the surviving abductees' families to join their relatives in Japan. He also said Japan wanted clear answers on the fate of at least 10 more of its citizens believed to have been victims of North Korean kidnaps. Some reports cite evidence that as many as 100 Japanese listed as officially missing may in fact have been taken by North Korean agents. Of the eight abductees North Korea says are dead, Yabunaka said Japan wanted more evidence including the repatriation of remains. North Korea has said it is unable to provide such evidence, saying in one case, for example, that the grave of an abductee had been washed away by flooding. Commenting on the latest talks the brother one of the dead kidnap victims said he felt exasperated by North Korea's refusal to cooperate with Japanese demands. "I was left speechless by North Korea's insincere attitude," said Kenichi Ichikawa whose brother Shuichi was abducted in 1978 but died a year later according to Pyongyang. Japanese officials attending the Beijing talks say they will keep on pressing North Korea for results. As one unnamed diplomat told the Associated Press: "We will keep on talking until we get a good answer." Copyright 2003 CNN. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
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