North Korea has officially rejected claims that it is prepared to discuss the issue of Japanese abductees during future bilateral North Korea-Japan dialogue.
A spokesperson for the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, issuing a “clarification” of the North Korean stance through Chosun Central News Agency (KCNA) yesterday, asserted instead that both sides had only agreed to governmental negotiations over the repatriation of the remains of Japanese soldiers on North Korean territory.
“At the preliminary talks, both sides informed the other of their stand on the inter-governmental talks that will be held regarding the issue of the remains of Japanese,” the spokesperson asserted. “They also discussed issues concerning the agenda, level, place and time for the talks and agreed to provide coordination through diplomatic channels in future.”
“In this regard, the Japanese government and political and media are saying that [North Korea] accepted the inclusion of the ‘abduction issue’ on the main agenda for the talks and [North Korea] is expecting sort of economic rewards through the issue of remains of Japanese. But this is a sheer lie,” the spokesperson went on, warning that this raised the possibility that Japan has a “sordid political purpose” for pursuing the remains issue.
Nevertheless, the tone of the statement was more measured than has often been the case when discussing Japan, something that appears to leave open the door to progress during the next round of discussions.
“[North Korea] has approached the issue of the remains of Japanese in good faith and with magnanimity from the humanitarian stand and will keep doing so,” the spokesperson declared. But “if Japan keeps seeking an ulterior political purpose, it will adversely affect [North Korea]-Japan inter-governmental talks.”
The most recent bilateral talks between the two countries took place over two and a half days between August 29th and 31st, following Red Cross talks on August 9th and 10th. It was after the governmental working-level talks that media reports suggested that the North had agreed to place the abductions issue on the agenda for the next round of discussions.
