Japan stresses abduction issue at APEC

Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura on Tuesday stressed the importance of resolving the issue of North Korea's abductions of Japanese nationals when he met his counterparts and senior officials from 11 Asia-Pacific nations over dinner in Sydney, Japanese officials said.
Representatives from many of the countries, in response, expressed high hopes that Japan-North Korea relations will move forward, including the pending abduction issue, toward normalizing diplomatic ties, the officials said.