kidnap victims before resorting to sanctions Ibusuki, Japan, Dec 17, SPA -- Japan will delay imposing economicsanctions on North Korea to give the communist state moretime to explain the fate of Japanese nationals abducted byPyongyang decades ago, the Japanese prime minister saidFriday in a move that appears to temporarily ease a recentescalation in tensions between the two nations. "We will have to see how North Korea responds to demandsfor the truth. Once we have that, we would then considerwhat sort of sanctions to impose," Junichiro Koizumi saidat a joint news conference with South Korean President RohMoo-hyun after a summit between the two leaders. Tokyo and Seoul have pursued independent contacts with thereclusive communist regime, in addition to participating inthree rounds of six-nation talks, involving the UnitedStates, China, Russia, the two Koreas, and Japan aimed atdismantling North Korea's nuclear program. Those strategieshaven't led to a major breakthrough.--more1458 Local Time 1158 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/225558