Pyongyang, May 21 (KCNA) -- The Aichi Society for the Promotion of the Japan-DPRK Educational and Cultural Exchange on May 1 handed to the Ministry of the Cabinet and the Foreign Ministry an appeal and a written request of personages of various circles in Aichi Prefecture addressed to the prime minister and the foreign minister, demanding the government lift economic sanctions against the DPRK and stop the human right abuses against the Koreans in Japan.
Takeuchi Koichi, secretary general of the society, conveying the appeal and the written request, pointed to the situation on the Korean Peninsula and the relations between the two countries further strained since the DPRK's satellite launch.
The Japanese government's extension of sanctions against the DPRK and its unreasonable suppression of Koreans in Japan can never be allowed, he said, urging the government to immediately lift the sanctions, resume the talks for the normalization of the relations between the two countries and respect the rights of the Koreans in Japan in the spirit of the Japan-DPRK Pyongyang Declaration.
In the meantime, the Nagano Prefectural People's Council for Supporting the Independent and Peaceful Reunification of Korea sent a written protest to the residence of the prime minister, the Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Defence as regards the step taken by the government against the DPRK over its satellite launch.
The written protest criticized the Japanese government for trumpeting about the "threat from north Korea" and stirring up antagonism and distrust between Japan and the DPRK, claiming that the satellite is a missile and demanded the government halt the extension of the sanctions and opt for dialogue with the DPRK.
|
