Japan Warns U.S. Over North Korea.

A senior Japanese official has warned the United States that relations will suffer if Washington removes North Korea from a list of terrorist states, amid stepped up efforts to end Pyongyang's nuclear drive.

Relations between Tokyo and Pyongyang remain tense in part because of the communist state's kidnappings of Japanese civilians, an issue that arouses deep emotion here. [...]

"Japan's flexibility on the issue may have increased with Abe's departure but the question is, will Pyongyang make some gesture to save face for Fukuda that both Washington and Tokyo will declare to be 'progress'," said Ralph Cossa, president of the Hawaii-based Pacific Forum at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

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