N. Korean defector Hwang to visit Japan on April 4-8+

TOKYO, April 2 Kyodo -
Hwang Jang Yop, a former high-ranking North Korean official who defected to
South Korea in 1997, will visit Japan for five days from Sunday, government
sources said Friday.
During his visit, Hwang will meet with Hiroshi Nakai, minister in charge of
abduction issues, as well as family members of Japanese nationals abducted by
North Korea, the sources said.
Hwang, a former secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and close aide to
North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, will also give a speech to a limited audience
and it is likely his schedule in Japan will not be made public, they said.
Major developments in the abduction issue are not expected this time, however,
as Hwang said during a speech in Washington on Wednesday that he knew about the
abduction issue before he fled North Korea but reiterated that he was not
involved in kidnapping Japanese citizens.
Hwang last visited Japan in 1997 as a member of a North Korean delegation
shortly before his defection. At the time, he was serving as chairman of the
Foreign Affairs Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly.
He is currently staying in the United States and will visit Japan on his way
back to South Korea.
==Kyodo
2010-04-02 22:46:04


Delete & Prev | Delete & Next