The issue has been ongoing for some 40 years. “Trump should raise the issue of Japanese abductees with Kim, but in the context of a broader, lasting peace in the region,” said Troy Stangarone, senior director at the Korea Economic Institute, a Washington-based non-profit policy research institution.
“While the focus of the upcoming talks will be denuclearisation, if there is to be a sustainable peace in the region afterwards, North Korea will need to resolve issues such as the abductees in addition to denuclearising,” Stangarone told Xinhua.
Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Darrell West said that it would not be difficult for North Korea to address the abductees issue. “It should be easy for North Korea to address the abductees issue. So I would anticipate progress there,” he said.
