Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Wednesday downplayed the idea of prioritizing the abduction issue over the nuclear standoff when dealing with North Korea.
Japan's policy toward the North is to resolve these and other issues comprehensively.
"None should be particularly delayed," Koizumi told reporters, referring to a suggestion made Tuesday by new Vice Foreign Minister Shotaro Yachi.
In his inaugural press conference, Yachi, who was previously one of Koizumi's secretaries, said, "As the relatives of the abductees are aging, the abduction issue -- a humanitarian problem -- should be resolved as soon as possible and before the nuclear issue."
Japan had been holding bilateral talks with North Korea on the abduction issue while dealing with the country's nuclear arms program under a six-party framework that also involves the United States, South Korea, China and Russia. Both approaches have recently stalled.
Koizumi has said he would launch normalization talks with North Korea if it "sincerely abides by" the 2002 Pyongyang Declaration. yyyyysk