Koizumi Acknowledges Flaws in North Korea Meeting
VOA News
23 May 2004, 16:48 UTC
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has acknowledged his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il did not meet expectations, despite the release of five children of Japanese kidnap victims.
Mr. Koizumi spoke to reporters Sunday in Tokyo upon his return from Saturday's summit in Pyongyang. He said he is aware of media criticism that he compromised too much to gain the children's release and did not make progress on other issues.
He also insisted that his promise of 250,000 tons of food aid and $10 million' worth of medical supplies to North Korea was not made in exchange for the children's return. Their parents, Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea two decades ago, were returned to Japan in 2002.
The prime minister also told reporters one family who elected not to return - the husband and children of kidnap Hitomi Sogi - could perhaps be reunited with Ms. Sogi in a third country such as China. Ms. Sogi's husband, former American soldier Charles Robert Jenkins, has said he fears leaving North Korea because he could face prosecution in the United States for allegedly deserting the army 40 years ago.
Family members of other abductees who may have died in captivity criticized Mr. Koizumi on Sunday for failing to get more information on their loved ones.
Saturday's 90-minute summit was the first between the leaders of Japan and North Korea since their unprecedented meeting in September 2002. It was at that meeting that Mr. Koizumi obtained the release of five abductees kidnapped to train North Korean spies in Japanese language and culture.
Some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters.
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