Japan will discuss the fate of Japanese citizens abducted to North Korea at nuclear disarmament talks this week but should not endanger the weapons negotiations by pushing the abduction issue too far, a Japanese official said Sunday.
"I think Japan will bring up this issue," Taku Yamasaki, former vice president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said on TV Asahi's < The fate of several Japanese kidnapped to North Korea decades ago has been a sticking point as the countries prepare for six-nation talks in Beijing aimed at eliminating North Korea's nuclear weapons program. Pyongyang -- brought to the negotiating table through months of delicate diplomacy -- has objected to discussing anything outside the nuclear agenda and says the abduction issue has already been resolved. North Korea, which kidnapped the Japanese decades ago to use as language teachers for spies, said Wednesday it would not deal with Japan at all during the next round and blamed Tokyo for "trying to change the direction and atmosphere of the six-party talks." Yu Kameoka, a spokesman for Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said afterward that Japan still intends to pursue the issue and "hear what North Korea thinks." Ahead of the nuclear talks, which resume tomorrow after a 13-month hiatus, Tokyo reportedly dispatched a diplomat to revive negotiations over the kidnappings. China has offered to provide a venue for bilateral talks between Japan and North Korea during the six-nation nuclear talks, Kyodo News agency reported. North Korea has admitted kidnapping 13 Japanese in the 1970s and 80s. It allowed five of them to return to Japan, saying the other eight died. Japan is demanding proof of the deaths, as well as information on other cases of missing Japanese.
Seven people sustained mostly minor injuries in an airplane fire in South Korea, authorities said yesterday, with local media suggesting the blaze might have been caused by a portable battery stored in the overhead bin. The Air Busan plane, an Airbus A321, was set to fly to Hong Kong from Gimhae International Airport in southeastern Busan, but caught fire in the rear section on Tuesday night, the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said. A total of 169 passengers and seven flight attendants and staff were evacuated down inflatable slides, it said. Authorities initially reported three injuries, but revised the number
‘BALD-FACED LIE’: The woman is accused of administering non-prescribed drugs to the one-year-old and filmed the toddler’s distress to solicit donations online A social media influencer accused of filming the torture of her baby to gain money allegedly manufactured symptoms causing the toddler to have brain surgery, a magistrate has heard. The 34-year-old Queensland woman is charged with torturing an infant and posting videos of the little girl online to build a social media following and solicit donations. A decision on her bail application in a Brisbane court was yesterday postponed after the magistrate opted to take more time before making a decision in an effort “not to be overwhelmed” by the nature of allegations “so offensive to right-thinking people.” The Sunshine Coast woman —
BORDER SERVICES: With the US-funded International Rescue Committee telling clinics to shut by tomorrow, Burmese refugees face sudden discharge from Thai hospitals Healthcare centers serving tens of thousands of refugees on the Thai-Myanmar border have been ordered shut after US President Donald Trump froze most foreign aid last week, forcing Thai officials to transport the sickest patients to other facilities. The International Rescue Committee (IRC), which funds the clinics with US support, told the facilities to shut by tomorrow, a local official and two camp committee members said. The IRC did not respond to a request for comment. Trump last week paused development assistance from the US Agency for International Development for 90 days to assess compatibility with his “America First” policy. The freeze has thrown
PINEAPPLE DEBATE: While the owners of the pizzeria dislike pineapple on pizza, a survey last year showed that over 50% of Britons either love or like the topping A trendy pizzeria in the English city of Norwich has declared war on pineapples, charging an eye-watering ￡100 (US$124) for a Hawaiian in a bid to put customers off the disputed topping. Lupa Pizza recently added pizza topped with ham and pineapple to its account on a food delivery app, writing in the description: “Yeah, for ￡100 you can have it. Order the champagne too! Go on, you monster!” “[We] vehemently dislike pineapple on pizza,” Lupa co-owner Francis Wolf said. “We feel like it doesn’t suit pizza at all,” he said. The other co-owner, head chef Quin Jianoran, said they kept tinned pineapple
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