Japanese Women in DPRK to Visit Homeland.

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, August 20, 2002

Japanese Women in DPRK to Visit Homeland.

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Japanese women living in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) will be allowed to visit their hometowns later this year, said a joint press release issued by the DPRK and Japanese Red Cross organizations in Pyongyang on Monday.

The joint press release, publicized by the Korean Central NewsAgency (KCNA), said both sides agreed to arrange the fourth hometown visit for the Japanese women in the DPRK in late October.

It was estimated that some 1,800 Japanese women had moved to the DPRK with their ethnic Korean husbands between 1959 and the early 1980s, the Reuters news agency said.

During the two-day talks between the Red Cross societies of the DPRK and Japan, which kicked off on Sunday and are regarded asthe first step towards resumption of rapprochement talks between the two countries, both sides reported on the results of investigations into the missing Koreans and Japanese, said the joint press release.

At the request of the DPRK, the Japanese had carried out an investigation into the whereabouts of Koreans reported missing before 1945 and informed of the whereabouts of three Koreans, one of whom is still alive in Japan. Both sides agreed to take appropriate measures to ensure a family reunion.

The DPRK informed the Japanese of the whereabouts of six missing people as requested by the Japanese in the last round of talks, held in Beijing in April.

Japan alleges the DPRK abducted 11 Japanese during the 1970s and 1980s, but the DPRK has refuted the allegation as groundless and demanded the Japanese government compensate for Japan's colonial rule over Korea from 1910 to 1945. These disputes led to the October 2000 breakoff of the decade-long negotiations, launched in January 1991, on establishing diplomatic relations between the two countries.

The joint press release confirmed both sides agreed to continue investigations into the missing people in the future and to inform each other of the results as soon as possible.

Both sides also agreed to have close cooperation with each other and to hold a working-level consultation if necessary, said the joint press release, adding that a detailed plan for the next round of talks will be determined by both sides.

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