Japan plans to support North Korean survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, health minister Chikara Sakaguchi said Tuesday.
Assistance of this kind has not sufficiently reached A-bomb survivors in the North because Tokyo and Pyongyang do not have diplomatic ties.
A measure introduced this year by Japan for survivors in South Korea "could be a possible option" for extending aid to the North Koreans, Sakaguchi said, adding his ministry will consult the Foreign Ministry on the matter.