North Korea stresses differences over abduction row
BEIJING (Reuters) - North Korea went into talks with Japan on the two countries' row over Pyongyang's past abduction of Japanese citizens by saying that the two sides still have major differences on the topic.The talks, which take place on Sunday, form the first part of a broader set of meetings that started in Beijing on Saturday and are aimed at improving relations between the two. The talks are expected to continue for several days.
The discussions are the first high-level dialogue between Japan and North Korea in more than three years are also expected to cover normalisation of relations and security issues.
They come amid efforts to resume stalled six-party negotiations among the two Koreas, Japan, the United States, China and Russia on ending North Korea's nuclear arms programme.
Kim Chol-ho, North Korea's top negotiator on the abduction issue, told reporters before entering talks on Sunday that, while Pyongyang was prepared to listen to Japan on the topic, serious differences remained.
Kim's counterpart in the talks, Kunio Umeda, stressed in remarks to reporters before the start of the meeting the importance the abduction issue holds for Japan.
"This is the biggest concern for our country. We want North Korea to take serious and specific measures," Umeda said, adding that Japan was prepared to put forward "counter-arguments" in response to any claims made by North Korea.
The dispute centres around the abduction of Japanese nationals by North Korean agents in the 1970s and 1980s to help train spies.
North Korea has admitted abducting 13 people, eight of whom it says are dead. It says the abductee issue is settled, but Tokyo wants more information about the eight and another three it says were also kidnapped.
Japan is expected to demand in the talks that North Korea hand over agents suspected of playing a key role in the kidnappings and that it return surviving abductees.
Copyright © 2008 Reuters
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