TOKYO (Sputnik) – Pyongyang has officially admitted to abducting 13 Japanese citizens from 1977 to 1983. It released five of the detainees in 2002 and 2004, claiming that the remaining eight had died. Earlier this year, Tokyo extended the trade embargo against Pyongyang and the ban on DPRK ships entering Japanese ports for two more years, as North Korea delayed reporting on the abduction investigation.
"A year has passed since the beginning of the investigation, and I apologize that it was not possible to ensure the return of the kidnapped [Japanese citizens]. I shall direct all forces to ensure positive actions from the North Korean side and to solve the situation at hand by taking the most effective steps," Abe told the upper house of the Japanese parliament.
In July 2014, North Korea launched a probe over the missing Japanese nationals, victims of the 1970s and 1980s kidnappings, as well as children and spouses of repatriated North Koreans. In response to the establishment of an investigation committee by North Korea, Japan agreed to ease some unilateral sanctions on Pyongyang.
Japan has consistently urged North Korea to release its hostages, believing that hundreds more may have been abducted.
Earlier this month, Japanese media reported that Tokyo and Pyongyang held secret talks in Mongolia over the fate of the abducted.
