"We deeply regret that the decision was made before confirming the whereabouts of the 10 abduction victims," the bipartisan group on the abduction issue said in a statement.

Tokyo recognizes the 10 Japanese as victims of abductions by North Korea, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il promised to reinvestigate their fates from scratch in a summit with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in Pyongyang on May 22.

North Korea had previously said eight of the 10 are dead and two others have never entered its territory.

The lawmakers' group called on the government to keep exerting pressure on North Korea to rescue the victims of abductions until the food aid is disbursed around October.

"We will never let North Korea receive aid from Japan" without providing anything in return, the group said in the statement.

On Aug. 5, the government decided to give North Korea 125,000 tons of food and $7 million worth of medical aid later this year.

The Japan Times Weekly: Aug. 14, 2004
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