A DPRK woman flew home yesterday after accusing Japan of abducting her in 2003, an apparent gambit to turn the tables on Tokyo, which has pressed Pyongyang to resolve the emotive issue of kidnapped Japanese.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said Tokyo would refuse economic aid to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) unless it saw progress in a dispute over Japanese citizens kidnapped decades ago to help train DPRK spies in language and culture.

To Chu-ji arrived in Pyongyang from Beijing by plane, the DPRK news agency KCNA said in a terse report.