Japan and North Korea move closer to reopening government-level talks
Japan and North Korea are moving to restart formal government-level talks, a foreign ministry official said yesterday, after a shift over the contentious issue of Pyongyang's past abductions of Japanese citizens.
The step forward came as diplomats held informal talks on the sidelines of a two-day humanitarian meeting in the Chinese city of Shenyang between Red Cross officials from the two countries, the Japanese official said.
We will work for a complete solution with consistent dialogue and pressure
"They have agreed to make arrangements in an effort to reopen government-level consultations," she said on condition of anonymity.
Talks were suspended in late 2012 when Tokyo reiterated its demand that Pyongyang come clean on the abduction issue, which has long hampered efforts to improve ties in the absence of formal diplomatic relations.
The talks were officially called off in December 2012 when Pyongyang launched a long-range missile, drawing international condemnation. Formal ties with Japan could bring huge economic benefits to the impoverished state.
North Korea outraged Japan when it admitted more than a decade ago that it had kidnapped 13 Japanese in the 1970s and 1980s to train its spies in Japanese language and customs.
