TOKYO: Japan’s relations with North Korea, never friendly, have moved into more open tensions because Tokyo is fed up with its unsuccessful attempts to woo Pyongyang so far, analysts here say.

On Tuesday, Japan’s Coast Guard ended its underwater probe of the wreckage of a suspected North Korean spy ship in the East China Sea. Two decomposed bodies were discovered from the search.

Japan believes the spy ship, which sank after a shootout in December with Japanese patrol vessels, belonged to North Korea. The incident sent shock waves across the country, occurring along with a series of reports of the abductions of Japanese nationals by North Korea.

These abducted Japanese are used to teach the Japanese language and customs to North Korean spies, who then infiltrate Japan to do military surveillance, and to gather information and technology, officials here say.

A new group in the Diet or Parliament was formed last month to develop a new policy in dealing with North Korea. For the first time, Japanese lawmakers are demanding the immediate prohibition of transfers of cash from Japan to North Korea by individuals and organisations — and the adoption of new laws to prevent resident Koreans from returning to the country after travelling to North Korea.

However, members of the Japan Communist Party and Social Democratic Party do not belong to the new Diet group. The measures are expected to badly hit economically strapped North Korea. Japanese-Koreans loyal to North Korea transfer billions of dollars to the country through ghost accounts and fraudulent loans from Japanese credit unions.

Japan has not yet signed a peace treaty with North Korea since the end of the Pacific War. Bilateral ties are bogged down over thorny issues such as compensation for Japan’s colonisation of the country decades ago.

Japan has followed a carrot-and stick approach toward North Korea. For example, Japan offered 500,000 tonnes of rice in food aid in 1997 in a bid to improve relations, but was not rewarded either by information on its “missing” nationals by Pyongyang or a pledge to negotiate a peace treaty.—Dawn/InterPress Service.