Abe says no energy aid to DPRK unless abduction issues make progress

Source: Xinhuanet | 03-02-2007 14:12

TOKYO, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Wednesday instructed Koichi Haraguchi, chief negotiator to bilateral talks with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), that Tokyo will not offer energy aid unless there is progress in solving the abduction issues.

"I was instructed by the prime minister to stick to the government's position in carrying out the negotiations," Haraguchi was quoted as saying by Kyodo News.

Japan will make an "individual and concrete judgement" depending on the DPRK's response, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki said, adding that the DPRK will have to do more than just promise to continue investigating the abductions.

Japan and the DPRK have agreed to hold bilateral talks on March 7-8 in Hanoi, capital of Vietnam, on normalizing relations between the two countries.

Editor:Du Xiaodan