DPRK paper accuses Japan of disrupting denuclearization process

PYONGYANG, March 24 (Xinhua) -- The official Minju Joson daily of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Wednesday blasted Japan for linking the abduction of Japanese citizens decades ago with denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.

According to paper, the Japanese ambassador to South Korea claimed in a speech recently the abduction issue should be resolved along with the issue of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.

The newspaper said the two issues are "absolutely not relevant to each other."

Japan's intention is to "deter the international community from focusing attention on solving the issue of denuclearization and furthermore create conditions favorable for attaining its sinister political aim," the paper said.

For Japan, the only way to improve the relationship between the DPRK and Japan was to make an apology and reparation for its war crimes, the newspaper said.

It also held Japan responsible for the failure of the six-party talks on nuclear disarmament.

The DPRK has admitted kidnapping 13 Japanese in the 1970s and 1980s. It has returned five abductees to Japan, while saying the other eight are dead.

But Japan insists the DPRK is hiding survivors and abducted more people than it has acknowledged.

The abduction issue remains a major obstacle to the development of relations between the two countries.