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North Korea has given the U.S. information about several Japanese, believed to be abductees, living in North Korea and may send them home, a Japanese newspaper reported on Tuesday.
According to the Mainichi Shimbun, the Japanese mentioned by North Korea are believed to be separate from a group of 12 that Tokyo recognizes as abduction victims.
North Korea appears to be trying to bolster the impression that it is making progress on the abduction issue and hoping to encourage the U.S. to remove it from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, the newspaper said, though it is unclear whether the news will actually lead to the return of more abductees.
According to the report, Japanese government sources said that information on the new abduction victims was conveyed to the U.S. last fall. The Japanese government has demanded the immediate return of all surviving abductees.
In October last year, Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura said the return of the surviving abductees to Japan would largely solve the abductions issue, and the return of even a few would be a sign of progress.
The Japanese government considers 17 Japanese nationals including Megumi Yokota as victims of abductions by North Korean agents. Five of the 17 have returned to Japan with their families.
North Korea said the abduction issue was closed following the return of the five and an apology by leader Kim Jong-il. It has claimed all of the surviving abductees have already been returned.
The Japanese government says it knows of 470 people who have disappeared and may have been abducted, 36 of whom it "strongly suspects" have been abducted by North Korea.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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