S. Korea, Japan to deepen cooperation on N. Korean abductions

By Lee Chi-dong
SEOUL, Jan. 12 (Yonhap) -- The leaders of South Korea and Japan agreed Monday to
step up joint efforts to resolve the issue of their nationals abducted by North
Korea, a Japanese government official said after their summit here.

President Lee Myung-bak and his counterpart Taro Aso also outlined a plan to
cooperate on aid to Afghanistan, he added.
"Prime Minister Aso requested President Lee's continued support and cooperation
with Japan's efforts to resolve the abduction issue, saying it constitutes a
serious violation of human rights," Yasuhisa Kawamura, deputy press secretary at
Japan's foreign ministry, told a press briefing. He said their summit was "very
successful."
The South Korean president showed sympathy for Tokyo's position, he said.
"President Lee expressed his support by referring to the fact that there are also
many South Koreans abducted by North Korea," the official said.
The abduction issue is a long-standing sticking point between North Korea and
Japan, even affecting progress in the six-way talks on Pyongyang's nuclear
program.
North Korea admitted in 2002 that it kidnapped Japanese citizens in the 1970s and
80s to train the country's spies. Pyongyang has since allowed five of the
abductees to return home, but Tokyo believes at least 17 Japanese citizens were
abducted and is demanding North Korea account for the fate of the remaining
victims.
The North also abducted 494 South Korean civilians, mostly fishermen, from the
late 1960s to the early 1970s, according to South Korean government data.
Kawamura said the leaders had a "frank and candid exchange of views" on the
abduction and nuclear issues.
"They referred to the importance of continued cooperation with China, which
chairs the six-party talks," he said.
With regard to the proposed partnership for supporting Afghanistan, Aso suggested
the two sides start in the vocational training and agricultural sectors.
"President Lee agreed and they decided to accelerate the ongoing process through
related agencies," he said.
He added that the prime minister welcomed a recent contract in which South Korea
will use a rocket made by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for the launch of a
multi-purpose observatory satellite named "Arirang III" in 2011.
Meanwhile, Lee accepted Aso's offer of another visit to Tokyo sometime this year
to continue the biyearly "shuttle diplomacy" conducted between the two nations,
according to the official.
The foreign ministers of the two nations will hold talks in South Korea as early
as possible to follow up on the latest summit agreement and to discuss the next
one, he said.
lcd@yna.co.kr
(END)