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The repatriation of abducted Japanese nationals and an easing of economic sanctions dominated
the discussions Sunday at the first high-level government talks between North Korea and Japan
in nearly a year-and-a-half. Kim Ji-yeon reports. North Korea and Japan
held their first government-to-government talks in more than a year inside the North
Korean embassy in Beijing on Sunday. On the first day of the two-day talks, the
Japanese delegation led by Junichi Ihara , chief of the Asian and Oceanian affairs bureau at
Japan's foreign ministry... called for the repatriation of Japanese nationals abducted
by North Korea in the 1970s and '80s. The North Korean delegation is being led by
Song Il-ho , its ambassador for handling relations with Japan.
He's asking for an easing of economic sanctions that were imposed by Japan after the North
fired long-range ballistic missiles in 2006. Tokyo had earlier stated that it would be
willing to gradually ease sanctions if Pyongyang demonstrates a sincere attempt to solve the
repatriation issue. But they'll first have to come to an agreement
on the figures. Japan says 17 Japanese nationals were adbucted
by North Korea and that only five have been allowed to return to Japan,... leaving a dozen
unaccounted for. North Korea says that four of the 12 individuals
never set foot in the North, and that the other eight have since passed away.
The most recent round of talks came in November 2012, but were halted after the North conducted
missile tests. The two sides are expected to wrap up their
two days of talks on Monday in the Japanese embassy in Beijing.
Kim Ji-yeon, Arirang News.