Japan is ready to lift sanctions against North Korea once Pyongyang clarifies its moratorium on missile tests, Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi reiterated Friday.
Obuchi made the remark as he met with former U.S. special envoy to North Korea William Perry in Tokyo, just a few hours before Pyongyang announced it would not launch a missile while high-level talks are under way with the United States.
Obuchi also told Perry that Japan strongly supports a new policy toward the North that Perry outlined in a recently completed report, saying Tokyo "will make utmost efforts to send (the new policy) on its way," according to a Japanese official who briefed reporters.