Korea Herald
7/8/2007
Japan should refrain from its hostile policy toward North Korea and actively take part in a six-party actions plan to achieve a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula, a pro-North Korean newspaper in Japan said Saturday.
Chosun Sinbo, a pro-North Korean newspaper published in Tokyo, said on Saturday that Japan should be out of the six-party discussions if it continues to avoid the energy assistance program.
Japan, a member of six-party nuclear disarmament talks, is at odds with North Korea over about a dozen Japanese citizens kidnapped by North Korean agents decades ago. Japan refuses to provide any economic aid to the North until the kidnapping issue is resolved.
Under a deal adopted on Feb. 13, North Korea is to receive 1 million tons of heavy fuel oil in exchange for shutting down its key weapons-related nuclear facilities. South Korea is responsible for the first shipment of 50,000 tons.
