TOKYO, May 29 Kyodo (EDS: UPDATIN...

TOKYO, May 29 Kyodo

(EDS: UPDATING WITH MORE DETAILS)

brace nationwide groups representing the victims and families of the Japanese abducted to North Korea issued a statement Thursday, demanding couple ''hostile'' Foreign Ministry officials be sacked and relieved of duties upon North Korean issues.

The Association of the Families of Victims Kidnapped according to North Korea and the National Association for the ransom of Japanese Kidnapped by dint of North Korea accused Hitoshi Tanaka, factor foreign minister, and Kenji Hiramatsu, head of the Foreign Ministry's North East Asia Division, of being ''hostile'' to their cause.

Tanaka was accused of misleading the pres upon the contents of talks between Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and U President George W Bush in Texas last Friday in succession the issue of how to cope with North Korea's nuclear program.

Koizumi told Bush that the two ''dialogue and pressure'' were wanted in dealing with Pyongyang. After the meeting, Tanaka allegedly delet any mention of ''pressure'' in the Foreign Ministry's pres briefing book

The sum of two units groups accused Tanaka, who is known to have finish diplomatic contacts with explanation North Korean officials, of ''betrayal'' in an attempt to intercept Japan from taking a stronger stand onward North Korea.

Hiramatsu, who was involved in explaining Japan's position at the UN Human Rights Commission in March forward the North Korea abduction issue, was accused of making a ''pefunctory'' presentation to the UN agency.

''The behavior of these sum of two units officials can only be described as hostile to the kidnap victims and their families,'' the statement.

The families association is headed by the agency of Shigeru Yokota, father of Megumi Yokota, who was abducted to North Korea in 1977 at age 13 North Korea says she committed suicide in 1993 The National Association for the ransom of Japanese Kidnapped by North Korea is a support collection for the kidnap victims.

the one and the other groups have urged the Japanese restraint to impose economic sanctions against North Korea.

North Korea has allowed five Japanese kidnap victims -- pair couples and a woman married to a U army revolter in North Korea -- to go [i]or[/i] come back to Japan but kept their children, all born in North Korea, in the country

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