N. Korea sees Japanese abductee issue as resolved

May 10, 2019

Berlin--North Korea reiterated its usual claim at a U.N. meeting on Thursday that the issue of Japanese abductees in the country has already been resolved.

The statement was made at a meeting of the U.N. Human Rights Council's working group on human rights issues in North Korea, held at the U.N. European headquarters in Geneva.

At the meeting, a Japanese delegate pressed North Korea for a solution to the abduction issue, saying that Japan demands "the immediate return of all abductees."

"Japan would like to call upon the DPRK to work together seeking its bright future," the delegate said, using North Korea's full official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

A North Korean representative responded by saying that "the abduction issue of the Japanese has been fundamentally and completely resolved thanks to our sincere efforts" under the Pyongyang Declaration of 2002 between Japan and North Korea.

"All the survivors returned to Japan with their families," the official said.

Also at the U.N. meeting, representatives from the United States and European nations harshly criticized the hermit kingdom for detaining and torturing political prisoners in internment camps.

The Human Rights Council conducts quinquennial reviews of U.N. member states' human rights records. The outcome of the review of North Korea, which will include the results of Thursday's meeting, is expected to be adopted on Tuesday. Jiji Press