TOYAKO -US president George W Bush has pledged that Japan's concerns about North Korean abductions of its citizens would not be ignored as Washington moved to ease sanctions against the communist country.
Mr Bush has begun easing a few restrictions on Pyongyang after it offered details of its nuclear weapons programme, but he made a pointed effort to show his support for Japanese prime minister Yasuo Fukuda by mentioning the abduction issue first at a joint news conference.
"I am aware that people want to make sure that the abduction issue is not ignored and that there are suspicions about whether or not the North Koreans will be fully forthcoming," Mr Bush said.
"The United States will not abandon you on this issue."
He noted that the nuclear negotiations were a multi-step process and that there must be "action for action".
The dispute over the fate of several individuals abducted to help train spies in Japan's language and culture is an emotional topic for many Japanese and a major obstacle to establishing diplomatic ties between the two wary neighbours.
Mr Fukuda said Japan wanted to make progress on the abduction issue as nuclear talks proceeded but said the dispute should not stand in the way of the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.
"So far, we have not seen any progress, but we need to engage in negotiations so that progress will be produced," he said in the same news conference, which followed a meeting between the two leaders ahead of this week's G8 summit.
"It should not be the case that there is no progress on the nuclear front just because there is not progress on the abduction issue."
Mr Fukuda nevertheless said it was important for Japan and North Korea to resolve the issues simultaneously. - (Reuters)