The United States does not consider a solution to North Korea's abductions of Japanese as a prerequisite for the removal of Pyongyang from its list of terrorism-sponsoring states, press reports said Saturday.
This position was stated by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice when she attended a meeting between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and US President George W. Bush at Camp David on April 27, the Jiji Press news agency reported.
Under US law, the solution of the abduction issue "is not a prerequisite" for the removal of North Korea from the list, Rice was quoted by Japanese government sources as saying, according to Jiji.
She was the first senior US senior official known to have referred to the possibility of Washington separating the abduction issue from the terrorism sponsor list issue.
At Camp David, Abe asked Bush not to change North Korea's status unless the abduction issue is resolved, Jiji quoted the sources as saying.
Bush replied he would take the abduction issue into consideration and that he would not compromise on his sympathy for the kidnap victims in considering a possible removal of North Korea from the list, the sources said.
Abe told a joint news conference with Bush after their meeting: "We agree that the current state of the six-party talks, as well as North Korea's attitude towards the abduction issue, are regrettable and we'll work for closer coordination between our two countries to achieve progress."
Japan has refused to fund an international deal to supply North Korea with energy in exchange for its nuclear disarmament unless there is progress on the abduction issue.
In September 2002, North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il admitted to kidnapping 13 Japanese in the 1970s and 1980s to train spies in Japanese language and culture.
Pyongyang says eight of them are dead, but Tokyo believes more Japanese nationals were kidnapped and are still alive in the North.
Japan has imposed sweeping economic sanctions on the North and refused to loosen them until the kidnapping row is resolved.
As part of its demands to Washington, Pyongyang wants to be taken off the list of terrorism-sponsoring states.
