North Korea refuses to help Japanese probe of abductions News
North Korea refuses to help Japanese probe of abductions

[JURIST] A North Korean official said Friday that his country has "fully resolved" all issues regarding North Korean abductions of Japanese citizens [Wikipedia backgrounder; Japanese government backgrounder, PDF], and would not cooperate in any further investigations regarding missing Japanese nationals taken to the Communist state to teach Japanese language and culture at North Korea spy schools because it has "already done all that is required." Japan has requested information on several Japanese who were abducted during the 1970s and 1980s, including a young girl named Megumi Yokota, who was kidnapped at age 13. Last year, North Korea handed over remains that the country claimed were Yokota's, but Japan determined through DNA testing that they actually belonged to two other individuals [JURIST report]. The abductions controversy has been a major strain on Japanese-North Korean relations in the last few years, with Japan considering economic sanctions [JURIST report] against North Korea if the issue remains unresolved. From Japan, Kyodo has more.