NGO'S OUTLINE DEFININTION OF PROGRESS ON ABDUCTION

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 TOKYO 005034

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/29/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV JA KN
SUBJECT: NGO'S OUTLINE DEFININTION OF PROGRESS ON ABDUCTION
ISSUE

Classified By: Ambassador J. Thomas Schieffer. Reasons 1.4 (B) (D)


1. (C) Summary. Japan must receive a clear statement from
Kim Jong-il that North Korea will return all the abductees,
release some of the victims it still holds, and start
negotiations with Japan on the process of accounting for the
others in order for Tokyo to achieve "progress" on the
abduction issue, representatives of AFVKN and NARKN, two
leading abduction organizations, told Embassy Tokyo October

25. AFVKN and NARKN members, along with the Diet
Parliamentarian League, will travel to the United States in
mid-November. A Japanese Kantei official returned from a
recent U.S. visit believing that &the United States is
preparing to de-list the DPRK without regard for progress on
abductions8 - a move he predicted would generate negative
reactions from government and the public. End Summary.

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Progress Defined
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2. (C) Political officer met for two hours on October 25 with
representatives of the Association of the Families of Victims
Kidnapped by North Korea (AFVKN) and The National Association
for the Rescue of Japanese Kidnapped by North Korea (NARKN).
Representing AFVKN were Chairman Shigeru Yokota (father of
abductee Megumi Yokota),Vice Chairman Shigeo Iizuka, and
Secretary General Teruaki Masumoto. NARKN members included

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Chairman Katsumi Sato and Secretary General Ryutaro Hirata.
AFVKN and NARKN are the leading non-governmental
organizations dealing with the abduction issue.


3. (C) The groups related to Embassy Tokyo an outline of
actions their organizations believe might constitute
"progress" in resolving the abduction issue with the DPRK - a
step that might allow the Japanese government to improve
bilateral relations with North Korea:

-- Kim Jong-il must make a clear, definitive public
statement/commitment/promise indicating that North Korea will
return abductees living in the DPRK;

-- Following the public statement, North Korea must actually
return some (but not all) of the abductees; and,

-- "North Korea and Japan must start negotiations on the
process of returning remaining abductees," and provide
specifics regarding when and where survivors will be returned
or accounted for. The negotiation would include providing a
"rational" explanation regarding the fate of the dead. The
groups, representatives promised to provide a coordinated
written statement detailing their views on "progress" after
consulting with Japanese government officials.


4. (U) (Note: On October 26, NGO representatives asked
Embassy Tokyo to convey to Washington, as the groups'
official written position, remarks given by former PM Shinzo
Abe and former Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki
during Diet testimony on March 26 and June 4, 2007
respectively:

-- The settlement of the abduction issue is "the realization
of the return of all abductee victims, full accounting of the
truth and the handover of kidnappers."

-- Progress on the abduction issue is "that both Japan and
the DPRK share common recognition of resolving the abduction
issue and, on that condition, the DPRK takes concrete steps."
End note)


5. (C) The AFVKN and NARKN members stressed that completion
of the three steps would constitute "progress," but not
"resolution." Resolution, according to family members, would
require:

-- North Korea to pay compensation for the abducted;


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-- Pyongyang to hand over the kidnappers; and,

-- Punishment for those who ordered the abductions.


6. (C) The family members and supporters strongly indicated
that a DPRK promise to simply re-investigate the abduction
cases would not constitute "progress." They also adamantly
opposed making direct overtures or requests for information
about dead abductees, or opening the negotiations with
requests for the same, fearing that any such inquiry might
result in Pyongyang's killing of possible survivors. They
urged the United States to be cautious in talking to the DPRK
about the deaths of any abductees.

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Meet PM Fukuda
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7. (C) The abductee groups, representatives planned to meet
with PM Yasuo Fukuda on October 26, at which time they
planned to ask PM Fukuda to continue government efforts to
return all abductees. Masumoto noted that Fukuda is less
passionate on the abduction issue than former PM Shinzo Abe.
He added, however, that Fukuda knows he must use the Prime
Minister's role to resolve the issue.

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FM Komura on Progress
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8. (C) Hirata said the group had not heard media reports
quoting FM Nobutaka Machimura as saying that the return of
some abductees may constitute "progress." Hirata speculated
that Machimura likely re-supposed that any such return of
some abductees would only follow a clear statement from Kim
Jong-il promising the return of all victims.

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De-Listing
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9. (C) The AFVKN and NARKN representatives expressed strong
concern about what they believed to be U.S. plans to remove
North Korea from the list of state sponsors of terrorism.
Masumoto said those concerns were based on remarks made by
the Secretary and EAP A/S Hill after DPRK negotiator Kim
Gye-gwan said the United States promised to remove North
Korea from the list. The abduction group members said they
would like the United States to state publicly that Pyongyang
will not be taken off the terror list absent progress on the
abduction issue.


10. (C) In response, Embassy political officer stated that
numerous U.S. officials, including the President, Deputy
Secretary, and A/S Hill have publicly noted on various

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occasions that the abduction issue is important for the
United States, and that the United States supports Japan's
efforts on the issue. Within the Six-Party Talks framework,
the United States agreed to begin the process of discussing
the DPRK's removal from the list after the DPRK meets its
obligations in the Six-Party process. One of those
obligations is that Japan and North Korea must reach
satisfactory settlement of the abduction issue. The Japanese
government, by virtue of its participation in the Six-Party
process, agreed to this approach in the February 2007
agreement.

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Abductee Group Admonishes Media
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11. (C) The day after the meeting with Embassy Tokyo, the
abduction groups quickly rejected a Mainichi newspaper story,
which described the Embassy meeting with AFVKN and NARKN as
"unusual." The Mainichi story falsely reported that Embassy
Tokyo officials had described the abduction issue as a
"bilateral matter" to be resolved between Japan and the DPRK.

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NARKN admonished the newspaper with a statement on its Web
site noting that abduction groups "often exchange opinions
with the U.S. Embassy." The Web site message contained
statements noting that Embassy officials stressed that the
United States had not made a decision to de-list North Korea
from the state sponsors of terrorism list, and that the
President, Deputy Secretary, and EAP A/S Hill had indicated
that the abduction issue is important to the United States.

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U.S. Visit
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12. (C) The AFVKN and NARKN members said they plan to visit
the United States November 11-17. A group of Diet members
who support the abduction victims will travel to the United
States at about the same time, from November 14-17, they
added. According to the AFVKN and NARKN representatives, the
Diet group plans to exchange opinions with 13 Members of
Congress, including Rep. Ilena Ros-Lehtinen, who has
reportedly introduced a bill requiring the release of
abductees as a prerequisite for the United States to de-list
the DPRK for the state sponsor's list.

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Kantei Official Pessimistic About De-listing
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13. (C) Embassy Tokyo met separately with Cabinet Information
and Research Office Councillor Takashi Minami October 24 to
discuss his recent visit to Washington on the abductions
issue. His general impression from his official and other
meetings was that &the United States is preparing to de-list
the DPRK without regard for progress on abductions.8 Should
this indeed turn out to be the case, Minami continued, &the
abductee family groups and others will react very negatively.
The Government,s official reaction will also be very
negative.8
SCHIEFFER