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Prime Minister Abe Meets with Family Members of Abductees and Mr. Noel Paul Stookey
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Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met with Mr. Shigeru Yokota and other family members of abductees at the Prime Minister's Official Residence.
Prime Minister Abe said to the family members, "At the Six-Party Talks in Beijing, it was agreed that with a view to normalizing relations between Japan and North Korea, the two countries will hold talks with the primary goals of settling the unfortunate past and resolving pending matters pursuant to the Japan-DPRK Pyongyang Declaration. Needless to say, these pending matters include the abduction issue. Japan will devote itself wholeheartedly to eliciting a forward-looking response from North Korea, while standing firm to the policy that without the resolution of the abduction issue, there will be no normalization of relations between Japan and North Korea." Mr. Yokota said in response, "I hope to see progress on the abduction issue now that there will be negotiations for the normalization of Japan-North Korea relations in the Six-Party Talks framework. I would appreciate your further endeavors for our cause." After the meeting, Prime Minister Abe and the family members met with Mr. Noel Paul Stookey, a singer and a member of the American folk song group Peter, Paul and Mary, and listened to a song Mr. Stookey had written in dedication to Ms. Megumi Yokota, one of the abductees.
Related Link:SONG FOR MEGUMI -Noel Paul Stookey- |