The remains North Korea gave Japanese officials last month are not those of Japanese abductee Megumi Yokota as Pyongyang had claimed, government officials said Wednesday.
DNA test results on the cremated remains are expected to further aggravate already tense relations between Tokyo and Pyongyang, as public pressure is mounting for the government to slap economic sanctions on the reclusive state in an effort to force it come clean on its abductions.
Officials in Tokyo had said the test results would be of "crucial importance" in determining Japan's policy toward North Korea.