Because of the acrimony built up over the abduction issue, North Korea and Japan are unlikely to normalize relations.

It’s not as though they haven’t tried: In 2002, Kim Jong Il admitted to the abductions of 13 Japanese citizens in the hopes of achieving official recognition – and aid – from Tokyo, but instead his admission triggered a backlash by confirming what the Japanese public had long believed.

Now, with differences between what Tokyo and Pyongyang consider the truth about the abduction issue – Japan says North Korea took at least 17 of its citizens, while the North has never