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Japan to send officials to N. Korea on abduction probe

TOKYO, Oct 22 (KUNA) -- Japan will send a team to Pyongyang next week to discuss the progress of North Korea's investigation into the fate of Japanese nationals abducted decades ago, the top government spokesman said on Wednesday.
The delegation of about 10 government officials, led by Junichi Ihara, director general of Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, will hold a two-day meeting from October 28 with North Korea's special investigation committee on the issue, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference. "The delegation will tell the North it is Japan's top priority to solve the abduction issue, and will hear about details of the current status of the investigation," Suga said.
"It is hard to know who has power in North Korea. Therefore, it is important to directly meet people who have authority on the issue. So, the government believes it is worth going there," Suga said, hinting that the officials will meet So Tae-ha, chairman of North Korea's special investigation committee.
It will be the first dispatch of the Japanese delegation to the North on the abduction issue since November 2004. The team will arrive in the North Korean capital on Monday for a four-day visit.
Japan lifted part of its sanctions on North Korea in July in return for Pyongyang's reopening of the investigation into the whereabouts of Japanese citizens it abducted in the 1970s and 1980s.
North's preliminary report was initially expected to be released between late summer and early autumn, but it said last month that the probe is still at an early stage and invited Japanese officials to visit for an update. The abduction issue has prevented Tokyo and Pyongyang from normalizing relations. Japan officially lists 17 nationals as having been abducted by North Korean agents, mostly to train as spies, but believes there are more cases.
In 2002, the North returned five of the 17, but Japan continues to seek the return of the remaining 12 people. Of the 12, the North claims eight have died and four others never entered the country.
In addition, the Japanese National Police Agency said the number of victims suspected to have been abducted by North Korea exceeds 880. (end) mk.rk