Japan may impose sanctions on DPRK for abduction: PM

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, November 25, 2003

Japan may impose sanctions on DPRK for abduction: PM

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Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said on Tuesday Japan may impose economic sanctions on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) if Pyongyang insists on refusing to deal with the issue of abducted Japanese nationals.

"At this point, we are not thinking about economic sanctions, but if North Korea (the DPRK) were to further aggravate the situation, I think we must think about it," Kyodo News quoted Koizumi as saying at a parliament meeting.

"From the standpoint of using dialogue and pressure toward North Korea (the DPRK), it is good to have a variety of options and I believe this is an issue that must be fully considered," he said.

Pyongyang admitted at a summit meeting last September that it had abducted 13 Japanese from the late 1970s to early 1980s.

Pyongyang said eight of them had died, a claim that Tokyo doubts, and let the remaining return to Japan for a visit last October while keeping back their family members. The five stayed in Japan after the visit, and the Japanese government has since been pressing the DPRK for a family reunion.

The two sides failed to reach an agreement on the sidelines of the first round of six-party talks on the DPRK's nuclear programs in August. Japan now is seeking to add the abduction issue to the agenda of the second round of talks probably in mid-December.

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