N. Korea threat over sanctions
TOKYO, Japan -- North Korea has warned Japan that it would treat economic sanctions against the nation as a "declaration of war" as a row brews over the remains of abductees.
A spokesman for North Korea's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday Pyongyang would react to such moves by "an effective physical method," without elaborating what that might be.
In the latest bout of belligerent rhetoric emerging from the isolationist nation, North Korea also said it would try to exclude Tokyo from six-party talks on its nuclear arms program.
North Korea has repeatedly said in the past that any imposition of economic sanctions by Japan would be tantamount to a declaration of war.
Japanese politicians are calling for Tokyo to impose sanctions on North Korea after Tokyo said that bones Pyongyang had identified as belonging to Japanese kidnapped by communist spies decades ago were from other people.
North Korea handed over the bones at talks in Pyongyang in November, saying they were the remains of Megumi Yokota and Kaoru Matsuki, two of 13 Japanese Pyongyang admitted abducting in the 1970s and 1980s to teach its spies about Japan.
But Japan said last week that tests on the remains showed that they were actually those of two other people.
Japan, which does not have diplomatic ties with North Korea, lodged a protest with Pyongyang and demanded clarification on the fate of 10 Japanese who Tokyo believes were kidnapped and are still unaccounted for.
A North Korean spokesman said in a statement carried on state-run Korean Central Broadcast and monitored in Tokyo by Radiopress that it was "unimaginable" that the bones handed over by Yokota's North Korean husband were not hers, accusing Tokyo of doctoring the DNA analysis.
The North admitted in 2002 to kidnapping the 13 Japanese, and Japan believes another two were also abducted. Five have returned to Japan.
Fear of blocking progress
On Friday, a group of Japanese ruling party lawmakers and a lower house committee passed separate resolutions calling for a freeze in humanitarian aid to North Korea and a threat of economic sanctions if progress is not made.
While media polls show a majority of Japanese favor sanctions on North Korea, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has taken a cautious stance, apparently for fear of blocking progress on the kidnapping cases and jeopardizing the six-party process which brings together the two Koreas, Japan, China, Russia and the United States.
South Korea's foreign minister Ban Ki-moon has also voiced opposition to any sanctions, according to Yonhap news agency, saying it could complicate efforts to resolve the standoff over North Korea's nuclear ambitions.
The United States has repeatedly expressed support for Japan's efforts to settle the abduction issue, but has also voiced concern that unilateral sanctions could harden North Korea's stance on six-party talks.
North Korea has already said Pyongyang might call for the exclusion of Japan from the talks.
Three rounds of the talks have made little progress and a fourth round set for September did not materialize.
Pyongyang said on Monday it was seriously reconsidering its role in the talks because of what it sees as a concerted campaign to topple its ruling system.
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Associated Press contributed to this report.
