National News

Japan, North Korea conclude talks without agreement on key issues

Japan and North Korea completed two days of normalization talks in Kuala Lumpur on Oct. 30 without making any substantial progress on the key issues of the abduction of Japanese nationals and North Korea's nuclear weapons program.

Katsunari Suzuki, Japan's special envoy on negotiations with North Korea, said they had agreed to open a bilateral security dialogue in late November between senior-level officials. The agenda will include Pyongyang's nuclear weapons development and missile program

But Suzuki admitted the gap remains wide on other matters, expressing regret over the lack of progress on the abduction issue - Japan's top priority in the talks.

The deputy head of the North Korean delegation, Pak Ryong Yon, urged Japan to immediately send the five abductees on a homecoming trip back to Pyongyang, brushing aside Tokyo's demand that their children be allowed to come to Japan to be reunited with their parents.

The abductees were initially scheduled to return to Pyongyang after a two-week stay, but the Japanese government decided not to send them back and instead called for their children to visit Japan.

During the talks, North Korea accused Japan of "breaking its promise" to send the five back to Pyongyang, noting that the abduction issue "would have made progress" if Tokyo had kept its word.

Pak also said Pyongyang does not need to explain its nuclear program "because it is North Korea that is under the military threat of the United States." During the talks, Japan urged North Korea to immediately halt its uranium enrichment program.

Shukan ST: Nov. 8, 2002

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