Japan has asked for Russia’s support to resolve the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by the North Korean intelligence services at the two-plus-two negotiations between the two countries’ foreign and defense ministers held on Tuesday.
“This issue was discussed at the two-plus-two talks. Japan asked for support to resolve the issue, and we reached an understanding with the Russian side,” Japanese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Takeshi Osuga told reporters at a press briefing in Moscow on Wednesday.
The issue of Japanese citizens kidnapped by the North Korean intelligence services is a sore point in relations between the two countries, which maintain no official diplomatic ties. In 2002, Pyongyang admitted for the first time that 13 Japanese nationals had been abducted and allowed five of them to return to their home country. All the rest were declared dead, and their relatives were sent the remains whose authenticity has never been established. In May 2014, the Japanese and North Korean governments agreed to conduct a new investigation into the abduction of Japanese citizens. However, the commission, which looked into the mater, was later disbanded on Pyongyang’s initiative.