Japan Vows Not to Help N. Korea without Return of Abductees

Tokyo, May 22 (Jiji Press)--Japan will not provide North Korea with any form of humanitarian aid unless Pyongyang safely returns all Japanese abductees in the reclusive country, Keiji Furuya, minister in charge of the abduction issue, said Wednesday. Furuya made the comments in a statement issued to mark the ninth anniversary of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's second meeting with then North Korean leader Kim Jong Il in the North Korean capital in 2004. During the meeting, Kim pledged to reopen an investigation into 12 Japanese nationals that the Japanese government recognizes as having been kidnapped by the North. North Korea later concluded that eight of the abductees have been dead and that the remaining four have never entered its territory. The probe was extremely dishonest, Furuya said, adding that there has since been no change in the North Korean insistence. Any attempt to put an end to the abduction issue by covering up the existence of Japanese abductees in North Korea will not work, Furuya said, adding that such behavior will only make Japan-North Korea relations irreparable. Referring to comments by Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga that the government will explore the possibility of resuming bilateral talks with Pyongyang, Furuya said at a press conference that this means that Tokyo is taking all possible steps to bring all abductees back home. END