Tokyo, May 17 (Jiji Press) — The Japanese government said Friday that the pro-Pyongyang General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, or Chongryon, remains subject to surveillance under the subversive activities prevention law.

The government “can’t deny the possibility that the association will conduct destructive activities depending on future circumstances,” the government said in a written response to a question from Jin Matsubara, a lawmaker of the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the Diet, Japan’s parliament.

The answer said the government recognizes that members of groups under the wing of the association were involved in three cases of abductions of Japanese nationals by North Korea.

The predecessor of the association “is suspected of having carried out destructive activities,” the government said, adding that “the association has a close relationship with North Korea.”