North Korea-Japan Makes Progress in Abducted Japanese Negotiation

North Korea-Japan Makes Progress in Abducted Japanese Negotiation. May. 05, 2004 21:56. by Yoo-Seong Hwang Hun-Joo Cho yshwang@donga.com hanscho@donga.com.

A foreign source announced that North Korea and Japan might have ironed out their differences as the two-day repatriation negotiation of abducted Japanese officials held in Beijing on May 5 made sufficient progress.

The source continued to add that although both North Korea and Japan did not reach a complete negotiation through these talks, they stated their opinions and made considerable progress.

After the negotiation, Japan’s chief negotiator Mitoji Yabunaka, director general of the Foreign Ministry`s Asian and Oceanic Affairs Bureau, told reporters that although there were no concrete agreements during this negotiation, that, “The two sides did not stick to basic principles and held considerably in-depth discussions.”

Kyodo News interpreted Yabunaka’s statement as the Japanese proposing a certain breakthrough measure to actualize an early repatriation of families of the abducted Japanese officials, currently the most prioritized foreign policy.

As the negotiation of abducted Japanese officials showed significant signs of progress in two and a half months, there is a high probability that both North Korea and Japan will reach an agreement on separate abduction issues at the six-way working group talks to be held on May 12 in Beijing and in the third session of the six-way talks in June.

In addition, the Japanese press announced that the Japanese negotiating team expressed Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi’s plan to hold a summit conference with Kim Jong-il to resume negotiations of their discontinued normalization of diplomatic relations if the repatriation negotiation reaches an agreement.

During this negotiation, the Japanese urged an immediate repatriation of eight family members of five Japanese officials abducted in Iraq in 1978 who were repatriated two years ago. However, North Korea is reported to have collided head-to-head with Japan by asking them to send back the abducted officials first as their temporary return to Japan ended up being permanent.

During this negotiation, four officials including Foreign Ministry Ambassador Jung Tae hwa, Foreign Ministry’s Japanese Affairs Division Chief Song Il-ho from North Korea, and three from the Japan, including Chief Negotiator Yabunaka, and Director General Tanaka Hitoshi of the Asian and Oceanic Affairs Bureau, were present.