Japan will delay imposing economic sanctions on North Korea to give the communist state more time to explain the fate of Japanese nationals abducted by Pyongyang decades ago, the Japanese prime minister said Friday in a move that appears to temporarily ease a recent escalation in tensions between the two nations. "We will have to see how North Korea responds to demands for the truth. Once we have that, we would then consider what sort of sanctions to impose," Junichiro Koizumi said at a joint news conference with South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun after a summit between the two leaders. Tokyo and Seoul have pursued independent contacts with the reclusive communist regime, in addition to participating in three rounds of six-nation talks, involving the United States, China, Russia, the two Koreas, and Japan aimed at dismantling North Korea's nuclear program. Those strategies haven't led to a major breakthrough. --more 1458 Local Time 1158 GMT
