日朝協議合意

(Aug. 14, 2008) The Yomiuri Shimbun
Japan must press DPRK in abductee probe
日朝協議合意　徹底した拉致再調査を迫れ（8月14日付・読売社説）

The government must now press North Korea hard to conduct a thorough investigation into Japanese abductees so that they can return home as soon as possible and so that the truth about them can be learned.
日本人拉致被害者の早期帰国と真相究明に向け、政府は今度こそ北朝鮮に徹底した調査の実行を迫らねばならない。

During working-level talks held in Shenyang, China, the Japanese and North Korean governments agreed that Pyongyang would soon set up a committee for reinvestigating the abductions and complete the probe by autumn.
日朝両政府は、中国・瀋陽で開いた公式実務者協議で、北朝鮮が拉致被害者の再調査のための委員会を早期に設置し、可能な限り秋までに結果をまとめることなどで合意した。

Japan, for its part, said it would lift restrictions on people visiting between the two nations and allow chartered flights linking the nations in return for North Korea's setting up of the committee.
日本は、北朝鮮が調査委員会を作った段階で、見返りとして、日本独自の経済制裁のうち、日朝間の人の往来とチャーター航空便の乗り入れ禁止を解除する。

We wonder if the reinvestigation to be conducted by North Korea will result in what Japan seeks--the finding and return of the abductees alive. Japan must thoroughly monitor actions that North Korea takes on this.
再調査が、日本が求めている「生存者の発見と帰国につながる調査」に本当になるのかどうか。北朝鮮の実際の行動を、厳しく見ていかねばなるまい。

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Monitor progress closely
（注意深く観察）

Past probes by North Korea were insincere. They merely offered death reports on the abductees, which were full of contradictions, and ashes that were hard to confirm as those of the abductees. North Korea needs to reconduct investigations from scratch and try to confirm the fate of all Japanese abducted by North Korean agents.
北朝鮮の過去の調査は、矛盾だらけの死亡報告書や本人とは判断できない遺骨の提供など、不誠実なものだった。調査をやり直す以上、北朝鮮は、過去の調査は白紙に戻し、すべての拉致被害者の安否確認に取り組む義務がある。

Japan must not allow North Korea to stall by conducting only dubious investigations. It is important to have the committee authorized by North Korean leaders be accountable regarding the reinvestigation and produce results by autumn.
あいまいな調査で時間稼ぎを許してはならない。北朝鮮指導部が権限を与えた委員会に調査の責任を負わせ、秋までに確実に結果を出させることが大切だ。
stall＝言い逃れる、ごまかすdubious＝疑わしい

It also is important that Japan monitor the reinvstigation's progress.
日本が、調査の進捗状況を点検することも重要である。

In line with an agreement made with North Korea, the Japanese government should require Pyongyang to make probe reports whenever needed and rigorously press North Korea whenever the credibility of an investigation is questionable.
政府は、合意に基づき、北朝鮮に状況を随時、報告させ、調査の信憑性に疑問があれば、厳しく問いただすべきだ。

First and foremost, the government must get Pyongyang to submit a fresh report on the fate of all the abductees by autumn. The government then needs to carefully verify these probe results by interviewing concerned people in North Korea and by other means.
まずは、秋までに、すべての拉致被害者の安否情報を改めて提出させねばなるまい。その上で、日本側による関係者の聞き取りなどを行い、調査結果の厳密な検証を進める必要がある。
First and foremost＝まっさきに、何よりも先に

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No carrots before sticks
（制裁解除は確認の後に）

On lifting economic sanctions as agreed in the previous formal talks of the two nations in June, the government said it would make a decision regarding the entry of North Korea-registered ships, including the passenger-cargo ship Man Gyong Bong-92, for loading humanitarian aid after carefully examining the results of the reinvestigation.
政府は、６月の前回協議で合意した経済制裁の解除のうち、貨客船「万景峰号」を含む北朝鮮籍船の人道支援物資積み込み目的の入港については、再調査の内容などを見極めて判断するという。

Economic sanctions are meant to serve as pressure to push North Korea into action. If the reinvestigation is not conducted in a convincing way, Japan should not give any reward to North Korea.
経済制裁は、北朝鮮を動かすためのテコだ。日本が納得できる方法で再調査が進まない場合は、見返りを与えてはならない。

North Korea also should cooperate as promptly as possible regarding Japan's demand to hand over Japanese hijackers who seized Japan Airlines' airliner "Yodo" in 1970 and went to North Korea.
日航機「よど号」乗っ取り犯らの引き渡しについても、北朝鮮はすみやかに協力すべきだ。

Pyongyang agreed with Tokyo's demand for holding bilateral talks apparently because the process of North Korea being removed from the U.S. list of terrorism-sponsoring states did not go as Pyongyang wanted. Japan must not be used for the sake of North Korean tactics. The Japanese government should strengthen multilateral cooperation and keep pressuring North Korea.
北朝鮮が日朝協議に応じたのは、米国のテロ支援国指定解除が思うように進まないからだろう。北朝鮮の戦術に利用されてはならない。政府は多国間連携を強化し、圧力をかけ続けてもらいたい。

Just like the verification of North Korea's declaration of its nuclear programs, it is essential to urge North Korea to take steps to produce substantial results in the reinvestigation of the abductees as well.
核申告の検証と同様に、拉致問題の再調査も、実効性の上がる方法を北朝鮮にしっかりと受け入れさせることが肝要である。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Aug. 14, 2008)
（2008年8月14日02時11分 読売新聞）