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No aid to N Korea unless kidnap issue solved: Japan
Tokyo, Aug 31: Japan today again warned North Korea it could not expect substantial Japanese aid until it solved the issue of the cold war kidnapping of Japanese citizens.
Tokyo, Aug 31: Japan today again warned North Korea it could not expect substantial Japanese aid until it solved the issue of the cold war kidnapping of Japanese citizens.
Solution of the abduction issue is "the top priority" in talks between Japan and North Korea, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said during a television interview.
"If North Korea clears the hurdle, it will receive several hundreds of billions of yen (several billion dollars) in financial assistance," said Abe, a key policy-maker on North Korean affairs. "But if there is no progress, Japan cannot go ahead with money talks. That's as a matter of course," said Abe, a close aide to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
On the sidelines of last week's six-way nuclear talks in Beijing, the North Korean delegation told Japan that Pyongyang wanted to solve the issue under the joint declaration issued last year. The declaration was signed by North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi after a historic summit in Pyongyang in September last year.
Under the accord, North Korea vowed to settle questions related to kidnap victims and Japan said it would extend economic aid to Pyongyang after the two countries normalised relations.
During the Pyongyang summit, Kim admitted for the first time that his agents had kidnapped a dozen young Japanese for use in the training of spies to infiltrate south Korea. Only five of them are alleged to have survived. Bureau Report
"If North Korea clears the hurdle, it will receive several hundreds of billions of yen (several billion dollars) in financial assistance," said Abe, a key policy-maker on North Korean affairs. "But if there is no progress, Japan cannot go ahead with money talks. That's as a matter of course," said Abe, a close aide to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
On the sidelines of last week's six-way nuclear talks in Beijing, the North Korean delegation told Japan that Pyongyang wanted to solve the issue under the joint declaration issued last year. The declaration was signed by North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi after a historic summit in Pyongyang in September last year.
Under the accord, North Korea vowed to settle questions related to kidnap victims and Japan said it would extend economic aid to Pyongyang after the two countries normalised relations.
During the Pyongyang summit, Kim admitted for the first time that his agents had kidnapped a dozen young Japanese for use in the training of spies to infiltrate south Korea. Only five of them are alleged to have survived. Bureau Report