By Ankit Panda
Japan has heard nothing from Pyongyang about its internal investigation into the fates of Japanese abductees.
Unsatisfied with North Korea’s cooperation on the sensitive issue of investigating the fates of abducted Japanese nationals, Japan announced on Tuesday that it would extend unilateral sanctions against North Korea for another two years.
Specifically, Japan has determined that Pyongyang’s delay in reporting on its internal investigation regarding the fates of Japanese citizens abducted decades ago is unacceptable.
According to Reuters, Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga noted that Japan would continue to press North Korea to continue to pursue its internal probe and eventually return the abducted Japanese citizens.
Last year, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government generated diplomatic momentum with North Korea over the abduction issue.
North Korean and Japanese representatives met to discuss the issue in Stockholm, Sweden. That meeting resulted in the announcement that North Korea would investigate the issue internally (in) exchange for limited sanctions relief from Japan.
Read the full story at The Diplomat