By Clint Richards
Pyongyang’s attempts at leverage could leave it out in the cold.
The joint investigation into Japanese citizens believed to have been abducted by North Korean agents in the 1970s and 80s hit its first significant snag last Friday, as Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga read from a statement sent from Pyongyang that said, “We aim to complete the investigation in about a year, and we are now in the initial stage. As of now, we cannot provide an explanation beyond this stage.” North Korea had previously said its initial report would be delivered “from late summer to early autumn” after the details of the investigation were settled in July.
Both Suga and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe were quick to respond to the statement. Suga said “We recognize that negotiations (with Pyongyang) will not go smoothly,” but “we think that North Korean authorities know the whereabouts of all of the abducted Japanese citizens. We hope that North Korea will conduct (the reinvestigation) with sincerity.” North Korea’s assertion that the investigation would be completed in a year still appears to line up with Suga’s statements in May, when the negotiations were just beginning, in which he said the entire investigation would take no longer than one year. If Pyongyang is operating on that timeline then the full report may not be made available until July of 2015, if indeed it ever is.
Abe took a stronger line in his response, as in many ways he has staked a large part of his premiership on the resolution of this issue, saying the remaining 12 abductees will be accounted for before he leaves office. On Friday he said “It’s quite natural for the families of abducted Japanese to suspect that North Korea is just playing for time,” and in reference to Pyongyang’s thin statement, that “It is meaningless to receive a report that has no substantial content. Our demand is that North Korea issue a report that has substance.”
Read the full story at The Diplomat