Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo on December 20 released the following comment on the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il:

I was surprised to hear the news of the sudden death of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-Il. I’d like to offer my condolences on the death of the head of the country.

We hope that the succeeding leadership of North Korea will make sincere efforts to comprehensively solve the outstanding issues between the two countries, including nuclear weapons, missiles, abduction of Japanese nationals, and historical issues, based on the 2002 Japan-DPRK Pyongyang Declaration. We also hope that it will return to the principles agreed upon in the 2005 Six-Party Talks in order to pursue a path as a responsible member of the international community.

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Akahata on December 20 carried this statement.

The relationship between the Japanese Communist Party and the Workers’ Party of Korea was terminated after North Korea’s unlawful international actions in the early 1980s. The JCP, based on its position of seeking peace and stability in Northeast Asia, calls for a peaceful and diplomatic solution to issues involving North Korea.

The Japan-DPRK Pyongyang Declaration, signed in September 2002 by National Defense Commission Chairman Kim Jong-Il and then Prime Minister Koizumi Jun’ichiro, stipulated a comprehensive resolution of the abduction, missile, and history issues between the two countries. The JCP has supported the bilateral declaration and feels that it is vital for the two countries to fulfill it, despite the difficulties, in order to pave the way for a normalization of their diplomatic ties.

Since the beginning of the Six-Party Talks (Japan, the U.S., South Korea, North Korea, China, and Russia), which started in 2003 for a settlement of North Korea’s nuclear weapons development issues, the JCP has recognized the importance of the Six Party Talks as a framework to bring about not only a solution to.