JAPAN

Japan to opt out of U.N. motion condemning North Korea's rights abuses in apparent bid for talks on abductions

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks to reporters at his residence in Tokyo on Feb. 28 after phone talks with U.S. President Donald Trump about the second North Korea-U.S. summit. | REUTERS

Kyodo, Staff Report

Mar 13, 2019

For the first time since 2007, Japan will not take part in the submission of a draft joint resolution condemning North Korea's human rights abuses to a U.N. panel, the government said Wednesday, in a conciliatory gesture apparently aimed at convincing Pyongyang to hold talks with Tokyo.

The turnaround reflects Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's desire to settle the issue of Pyongyang's past abductions of Japanese nationals — a top priority of his administration, according to government sources.

Tokyo has jointly presented such a motion with the European Union to the 47-member U.N. Human Rights Council for the last 11 years.

Japan to opt out of U.N. motion condemning North Korea's rights abuses in apparent bid for talks on abductions

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