North Korea on Thursday rejected Japan's announcement that South Korean Kim Young Nam is most likely Megumi Yokota's husband, calling it an attempt to drag the South into a bitter bilateral dispute.
Song Il Ho, North Korea's ambassador in charge of diplomatic normalization talks with Japan, said Tokyo's conclusion that Kim is most likely the husband of the Japanese abductee is unacceptable.
Song was commenting on Tokyo's announcement Tuesday on the results of DNA tests conducted on samples from relatives of Kim, who disappeared from South Korea in 1978 at the age of 16, and Yokota's daughter Kim Hye Gyong.
"I believe the basic purpose of this is to bring South Korea into the abduction dispute. This is meaningless," Song said, when asked about the announcement and what Pyongyang would do next.
Song also indicated the two countries would not be able solve their dispute over the North's abduction of Japanese unless they found new ways to deal with the issue.