In brief: Man dies 500 yards from VA emergency room

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A veteran who collapsed in an Albuquerque Veteran Affairs hospital cafeteria – 500 yards from the emergency room – died after waiting around 20 minutes for an ambulance, officials confirmed Thursday.

It took between 15 and 20 minutes for the ambulance to be dispatched and take the man from one building to the other, which is about a five-minute walk, officials at the hospital said.

Kirtland Air Force Medical Group personnel performed CPR until the ambulance arrived, VA spokeswoman Sonja Brown said.

Staff followed policy in calling 911 when the man collapsed on Monday, she said. “Our policy is under expedited review,” Brown said.

That policy is a local one, she said.

The man’s name hasn’t been released.

The death comes as the Department of Veterans Affairs remains under scrutiny for widespread reports of long delays for treatment and medical appointments and of veterans dying while on waiting lists.

Japan eases North Korea sanctions

TOKYO – Japan took a tentative step toward improved relations with North Korea on Friday by agreeing to lift some of its sanctions, as North Korea announced the details of a new probe into the fate of at least a dozen Japanese believed to have been abducted by North Korean agents in the 1970s and 1980s.

The Cabinet approved easing sanctions in three areas. It lifted a ban on North Koreans visiting Japan, allowing them on a case-by-case basis, and made it easier for Japanese and ethnic Koreans in Japan to travel to North Korea. It also raised the reporting limit for money taken or sent to North Korea. Thirdly, it approved port calls by North Korean-flagged ships for humanitarian purposes.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Thursday that he was satisfied that a North Korean investigation committee has the mandate to carry out a serious investigation into the abductions, though previous deals with the North have fallen through. Japan will continue to abide by U.N. sanctions on North Korea over its nuclear and missile programs.

After years of denial, North Korea acknowledged in 2002 that its agents had abducted Japanese citizens to train its spies in the 1970s and 1980s and eventually returned five of them. It said others Japan said were abducted had died or never entered the North. Tokyo disputes that and wants an investigation into at least 12 abduction cases.