As a three-month waiting period North Korea had to observe to officially withdraw from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty ended Thursday, Japan refused to acknowledge the validity of its neighbor's actions.
But it was also trying to walk a fine line and keep from provoking a government that boasts of its nuclear ambitions.
"We do not think there is an international consensus that (North Korea) left the treaty," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said.
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