By Clint Richards
South Korea seems to accept that the report won’t lead to greater influence for Japan.
Expectations that North Korea will release its investigation into the abduction of Japanese citizens soon are increasing, as the end of the month is generally thought to be the deadline. Japan does not appear to be taking any chances, with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe taking a firm line with Pyongyang in a speech on Saturday in Tokyo. Meanwhile, North Korea is continuing to take steps seen as friendly toward Japan in the lead up to its report. However, the most important point surrounding the abductee question may be that South Korea has not made it an issue amidst a recent cooling in tension with Japan.
While speaking before a rally in the capital, Abe said he would “not back down until every abductee is accounted for,” and that he would “not relent until they are allowed to come back to Japan.” The number of abductees included in North Korea’s report will indeed be a key issue. The Japanese government officially recognizes 17, of whom five have returned. While it is unlikely that Pyongyang will include information on the whereabouts of more than the 12 remaining officially recognized citizens, an independent investigation done in Japan suggested that up to 869 missing persons could be potential abductees.
Read the full story at The Diplomat