CHINA: Members of a Japanese delegation which has held the country's first talks with North Korea in four years leaves Beijing

Record ID: 466694

  • Title: CHINA: Members of a Japanese delegation which has held the country's first talks with North Korea in four years leaves Beijing
  • Date: 31st August 2012
  • Summary: BEIJING, CHINA (AUGUST 31, 2012) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF JAPANESE EMBASSY JAPANESE NATIONAL FLAG ON POLE JAPANESE AND OTHER MEDIA WAITING GUARD STANDING GATE OF EMBASSY WOMEN WALKING PAST POLICE CAR CARS DRIVING AT ENTRANCE TO BEIJING CAPITAL AIRPORT MEN SEATED IN FRONT OF DEPARTURES VARIOUS OF THREE MEMBERS OF JAPANESE DELEGATION WALKING PAST MEDIA CHASING DELEGATES
  • Embargoed: 15th September 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: China
  • Country: China
  • Reuters ID: LVA8MXZRRTC9LT6U49QVVTE2QR1N
  • Story Text: Members of a Japanese delegation which has held the country's first talks with North Korea in four years left Beijing on Friday (August 31) The two countries held three days of talks in the Chinese capital, ending in a meeting at the Japanese embassy on Friday.
    A Japanese embassy car later left the embassy and three men walked past journalists gathered at Beijing's Capital airport on the way to departures.
    Earlier this month, Tokyo said the talks would touch on the contentious issue of the North's abduction of Japanese citizens decades ago.
    The talks would also be the first since Kim Jong-un took control of North Korea after his father, Kim Jong-il died in December, a further signal he may be breaking free of decades of dour and reclusive management of the impoverished country.
    North Korea abducted Japanese citizens in the 1970s and 1980s to train its spies in the Japanese language and culture.
    Japan has repeatedly asked for more information about what happened to those who were kidnapped, but North Korea has insisted that the case is closed.
    The abductions have long been a source of diplomatic friction, so any sign of progress on the issue could herald a thaw in relations between the Asian neighbours.
    The retrieval of the remains of Japanese who died on the Korean peninsula during World War II would also be on the agenda, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary said.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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