Japan said today that it will refuse to give any energy aid to North Korea, which has resumed nuclear disarament work after Washington removed it from a list of state sponsors of terrorism. Japan opposed the US delisting, insisting that North Korea must first do more to reveal the fate of Japanese civilians the communist regime kidnapped in the 1970s and 1980s to train its spies. "We will reaffirm the government's policy on the abduction issue" at a task force meeting on the kidnappings on Wednesday, the Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura said.
"We will also confirm that Japan cannot offer energy support unless there is progress on the abduction issue." The North's five negotiating partners, which include Japan, promised Pyongyang one million tons of fuel oil or equivalent aid in return for the disabling of its nuclear plants and a declaration of its atomic programmes. Japan, Asia's largest economy, has faced pressure from the other nations to contribute but has refused.
Prime Minister Taro Aso earlier downplayed the US delisting of North Korea, saying it was "one method of trying to move forward" in the deadlocked nuclear talks. But the outspoken finance minister Shoichi Nakagawa said the step was "extremely regrettable". Japanese media said Japanese diplomats were especially upset as they only found out about the US delisting hours in advance, when the US embassy asked them to arrange a telephone call between Aso and the US President George W Bush.
*AFP
