North Korea to probe abductions; Japan lifts some sanctions (Roundup)

Jun 13, 2008, 12:09 GMT

Tokyo - Japan decided to partially lift its sanctions against North Korea after Pyongyang agreed to investigate the abductions of Japanese citizens by its agents, Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura said Friday.

Japan would allow North Korean ships to enter Japanese ports for the transportation of humanitarian supplies and allow travellers to visit Japan, Komura said.

The move came after the two countries met this week in Beijing, where Pyongyang agreed to resume investigations into the abduction cases, which involve the disappearances of 17 Japanese citizens in the 1970s and '80s.

Japan called it a 'small step' forward but not enough to take part in energy aid to North Korea, which the six-party talks offered in exchange of Pyongyang's denuclearization.

A progress was made during the talks as North Korea changed its previous stance that the abduction issue has already been cleared up, Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said.

Five of the abductees returned to Japan in October 2002, but the whereabouts of the rest are not yet known.

North Korea said in 2002 that eight had died while two never entered the country. Two others have been added to the list of victims since then.

The negotiation also involved a handover of Japanese radicals who hijacked a Japan Airlines plane on the way to North Korea in 1970.

Four of the nine hijackers sought asylum in North Korea and still live in the country. Three others have died and two later returned to Japan and were tried and convicted for their role in the hijacking.