Japan opposition DPJ won't shift course on North Korea

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's opposition Democratic Party will maintain Tokyo's tough stance toward North Korea if it wins an election this month, a senior party lawmaker said on Thursday.

The party would also insist on progress in a feud over Japanese citizens kidnapped decades ago before giving aid under any multilateral nuclear disarmament deal, said Akihisa Nagashima, deputy secretary-general of the Democratic Party.

Japan's emphasis on the abductions, which still stoke public anger over tales of a schoolgirl and others snatched from their homeland, put Tokyo at odds with other countries when it refused to provide energy aid promised to North Korea under a 2007 six-party agreement to end Pyongyang's nuclear program.

"There is no practical option for us other than to seek a comprehensive solution linking the abductees problem and the nuclear and missile issues within the framework of the six-party talks," Nagashima said in an interview with Reuters.

"Naturally, within that, there can be differences in nuance of whether to stress dialogue or pressure. But as a practical issue, as long as the abductee issue is not resolved or there is no progress, there will be no large scale aid (for North Korea)."

Some analysts have speculated that former U.S. President Bill Clinton's visit to North Korea this week to win the release of two jailed American journalists could open the way to talks between Washington and Pyongyang over the North's nuclear weapons program.

But Nagashima said Tokyo need not worry about being left out of the diplomatic loop should progress be made in future negotiations on the North's nuclear activities.

North Korea has said the six-party talks were dead. They had brought together the two Koreas, the United States, Japan, China and Russia.

"For the six-party talks, which seek the abandonment of the North's nuclear weapons (program), to move forward, ultimately aid from Japan will be needed," Nagashima said.

"If you look at a snapshot in time, it may appear as if Japan is being left behind, but ultimately, without Japanese aid, the deal will not be clinched."

The Democratic Party has a good shot at winning an election on August 30. Opinion polls show it is ahead of the ruling conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

(Editing by Dean Yates)