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Japan hopes North Korea deal to investigate abductions brings answers, not more disappointment
• TOKYO (AP) -- Japan and North Korea appear to be on the verge of a breakthrough on a bizarre legacy of the Cold War, a secret, government-ordered program that led to the abduction of more than a dozen and possibly several hundred Japanese citizens in the 1970s and 80s by North Korean infiltrators and spies.
• After three days of talks in Stockholm last week, North Korea agreed to open a new investigation into the abductions, the biggest step forward Tokyo and Pyongyang have made in years. Questions over the fate of the abductees -- some believed to still be alive -- have kept relations in a deep freeze.
• A resolution would be a big win for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, while North Korean leader Kim Jong Un would in return get the lifting of some sanctions and possibly increased humanitarian aid. The U.S. and South Korea, however, fear Abe could weaken diplomatic efforts for North Korea to abandon its nuclear program by focusing too much on the bilateral abduction issue.
• Tokyo is as concerned as Washington and Seoul are about North Korea's development of nuclear weapons and long-range missiles, but the abductions have been the biggest thorn in its relations with Pyongyang. For many Japanese, the tales of a child vanishing on her way home from school, couples grabbed off beaches and tourists nabbed while abroad have put a human face on what they see as the brutality and hostility of the North Korean regime.
• Abe, known for his hawkish nationalism and his hard-line stance toward Pyongyang, has made the abductions his cause celebre. He vowed in announcing the new deal that he will not relent until "the day the families of the abduction victims can hold their loved ones in their arms."
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Senators push for bill on veterans' health care as new VA chief heads to Phoenix
• WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Senate is moving forward on a compromise bill to help veterans avoid long waits to see a doctor and make it easier to fire administrators who falsify records to cover up long wait times.
• Hopes for a vote as soon as Thursday have dimmed, but senators said they would press ahead on a measure to address an uproar over veterans' health care following allegations that veterans have died while waiting to see a Veterans Affairs (Continued on page 26)
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