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The team which analyzed the cremated remains of Megumi Yokoda says the result is not final and it is possible that the test samples could have been tainted. Tokyo had previously claimed that North Korea handed over fake remains belonging to another person.
Teikyo University Professor Tomio Yoshii whose team led the DNA test made these remarks in an interview with the science journal Nature. Professor Yoshii said no matter how meticulously handled, it is possible that someone else's perspiration or other fluids could have tainted the sample material.
The magazine pointed out that Japanese forensic experts hardly have any experience analyzing cremated remains and that there is near zero-possibility that traces of DNA would still be in the remains that endured 1200 degrees Celsius in the incinerator. Professor Yoshii said a re-test is almost impossible as the samples he received from the Japanese government have been entirely consumed.
North Korea had refuted Japan's claims that the remains were fake saying the test findings were fabricated. Japan has been coming under intense pressure to retaliate against North Korean kidnappings with economic sanctions.
But the possibility of the DNA testing error will likely spur a new controversy.
Arirang TV
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