Unconditionally settle abduction issue

日本人拉致問題の無条件解決を

China, the host nation and a longtime friend of North Korea, can play a useful role in resolving this humanitarian problem, which involves more than a dozen Japanese nationals who were kidnapped by North Korean agents in the 1970s and 1980s. Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing, in a meeting Aug. 11 with Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi, expressed sympathy: "I understand this is a very important issue for the Japanese people."

The kidnapping of Japanese citizens by North Korea constitutes not only a serious violation of Japanese sovereignty but a heinous state crime. North Korea should let the abductees' relatives come to Japan immediately and unconditionally.

It has been almost a year since Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi made a surprise visit to Pyongyang and heard North Korean leader Kim Jong Il admit to the abductions. In October, the following month, five abductees returned to Japan, leaving behind their children.

Pyongyang's willingness to discuss the abduction issue — a major obstacle to Japan-North Korea talks on normalizing relations — suggests that the North may be inclined to restart the long-stalled negotiations. Its agreement to the six-party format — which represents a de facto reversal of its demand for direct dialogue with Washington — indicates a desire to end the nuclear standoff on a multilateral basis. Progress on the nuclear issue will likely facilitate normalization talks.

At this stage, however, it is unclear exactly how the North Koreans view the abduction issue. Pyongyang recently tried to reach the returnees in Japan in a backhanded way by asking a Japanese non-governmental organization to hand them letters and photos from their children. Understandably the parents refused to take those letters and photos directly from the NGO; they accepted the mail through government officials.

Of the letters, one couple said their children "want us to return to North Korea. It looks like they were forced to write those letters." According to another couple, the mail from their children included the message "We are told that our parents have been detained in Japan."

One wonders whether Pyongyang was trying to influence the Japanese government or divide the parents by taking advantage of the natural bonds between parents and children.

The abduction issue does not involve only the five returnees and their relatives in North Korea. At least eight other Japanese, including Ms. Megumi Yokota, are believed to have been abducted, but the North says they are dead. The Japanese government has requested that Pyongyang supply further information about them — but to no avail. The government has identified 15 people as abductees. There are other suspected cases of abduction as well. Normalization will be impossible unless this problem is resolved in its entirety.

North Korea's official news agency has criticized Japan for trying to create an "artificial obstacle" in the six-nation talks "by bringing up an issue that has been resolved." Pyongyang should be aware that the abductions have been roundly condemned by the international community, including the U.N. Human Rights Commission and the Group of Eight summit.

Therefore, reason, if not politics, dictates that the abductions be discussed at the six-nation talks. The United States is reportedly in favor of this approach. China, however, is wary of getting involved with the issue. Trying to mediate between Japan and North Korea, Beijing favors separate talks on this subject, which is what Pyongyang desires.

Japan should be prepared to resolve the abduction problem either bilaterally or multilaterally. The important thing is that Japan should maintain a resolute stand on this issue. Pyongyang may try to strike a deal in exchange for economic aid. That kind of give-and-take must be rejected. In this regard, close coordination among Japan, South Korea and the United States is important. The policy of "dialogue and pressure" needs to be strengthened through multilateral cooperation.

The Japan Times Weekly
Aug. 23, 2003
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      中国は主催国、北朝鮮の友好国として拉致問題解決での重要な役割が期待される。

      北朝鮮による日本人の拉致は、日本の主権の重大な侵害であるばかりでなく、凶悪な国家犯罪である。同国は拉致被害者の家族を直ちに無条件で帰国させるべきだ。

      小泉首相が北朝鮮を訪問し金正日総書記と会談してから約1年。北朝鮮側は日本人拉致を認め、5人の被害者は帰国した。

      北朝鮮側は最近、日本のNGOを通じて家族からの手紙、写真を拉致被害者に渡そうとしたが、被害者に受け取りを拒否された。手紙などは後に日本政府から届けられた。

      北朝鮮は親子の絆を利用して政府を牽制しようとしているのか、被害者を分断しようとしているのか、疑いはつきない。

      帰国した拉致被害者以外にも、横田めぐみさんなど8人の日本人が北朝鮮へ拉致されたが、北朝鮮はこれらの人たちは死亡したとしている。政府は計15人の日本人が拉致されたと認定しているが、他にも拉致疑惑はある。拉致問題が完全に解決されない限り日朝国交正常化は不可能だ。

      問題を2ヵ国間または多国間協議のどちらで解決するにしても、日本は北朝鮮に対し断固とした姿勢を貫かねばならない。北朝鮮は経済援助の交換条件として問題解決を提案する可能性があるが、そのような取引は拒否すべきだ。そこで日米韓の緊密な連携が必要になる。「対話と圧力」政策は多角的協力により強化すべきだ。