N. Korea, Japan abduction talks stall

SHENYANG, China, Aug. 24 (UPI) -- North Korea is refusing to toss out the results of its investigation into the abductions of Japanese nationals, sources say.

Japan has never been satisfied with North Korea's investigation of the issue, in which Pyongyang determined in 2004 that eight of the 17 alleged abductees on Japan's list had died. With hopes fading that North Korea can be persuaded to put aside those results and start over, unnamed sources said Japan has agreed only to urge the North to conduct a reinvestigation as swiftly as possible, the Kyodo news agency reported Sunday.

Sources told Kyodo the latest round of negotiations in the Chinese city of Shenyang was seen by Japanese officials as chance to get North Korea to agree to re-investigate the cases from scratch.

But Pyongyang's latest stance suggests it may want to uphold the results of its past investigation, which raises concern little new light would be shed on the abduction issue as a whole, the news agency said.

Japan says that during the 1970s and 1980s, Pyongyang kidnapped as many as 17 Japanese citizens, most likely as means for North Korean agents to assume their identities in the South.