Since the fourth round of six-party talks opened Tuesday morning, the Japanese side has raised the abduction issue several times. To stress the issue in this multi-party mechanism will distract the talks from its focus of the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue and will not help the settlement of the abduction issue itself, experts noted.   

Professor Jin Canrong, with the Institute of International Studies under the Renmin University of China, said Thursday, "The abduction issue has aroused great attention inside Japan, and Japan's desire to resolve the issue is understandable."

"The focal point of six-party talks, however, is the Korean nuclear issue. The abduction issue should be resolved step by step within the bilateral framework between Japan and North Korea," Jin added.

Japanese delegation head Kenichiro Sasae said at the opening session of the current round of six-party talks that the principle for Japan to normalize its relationship with North Korea under the Japan-North Korea Pyongyang Declaration remained unchanged. But issues such as North Korea's nuclear and missile programs and the abductions must be comprehensively resolved for the two countries to be able to normalize diplomatic ties, he said.

Delegates from the other sides have expressed dissatisfaction about Japan's emphasis on the abduction issue. Prior to this, North Korea criticized that Japan obstructed six-party talks under the pretext of the abduction issue. It also said it would not hold one-on-one contact with the Japanese side in the current round of six-party talks.

Song Min-soon, South Korean chief negotiator, pointed out at the six-party talks' opening ceremony that the current round of talks should focus on the Korean nuclear issue. "It is inappropriate to distract the talks from its focal point," he said.

At the opening session, the US chief negotiator, Christopher Hill, also required the talks to concentrate on the nuclear issue.

Moreover, the Russian delegation head Alexander Alexeyev noted before the talks opened that if negotiators make use of the talks to solve bilateral problems, the talks are bound to fail.

The spokesperson with the Chinese Foreign Ministry said several times, "China appreciates any proposals and opinions that are conducive to the atmosphere and advancement of the talks."

Jin Linbo, head of the Asia-Pacific Office under the China Research Institute of International Studies, said that given opposition by North Korea and disapproval by other delegations, the abduction issue would not become a topic for discussion in the six-party talks. "This issue can be resolved only within a bilateral framework," Jin added.

It is reported that North Korea acknowledged that it abducted 13 Japanese in the 1970s and 80s, of whom eight have died. After Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visited North Korea, the remaining five and their family members returned to Japan. Japan demands the North to provide death testimonials for the eight dead Japanese and evidence about other missing Japanese.

(Xinhua News Agency July 28, 2005)