Japan will hold the next round of talks with North Korea in the "not so distant future," following an agreement last week to continue consulting over the issue of Pyongyang's past abductions of Japanese nationals, Foreign Minister Koichiro Genba said Tuesday.
Welcoming the agreement, Genba told reporters the two-day meeting in Ulan Bator involving senior Japanese and North Korean officials that ended Friday was "meaningful" because the two sides had "deep exchanges of opinions" over issues of interest, including the abductions.
Noting the government must proceed with the talks "cautiously" and will still have to hold multiple rounds with Pyongyang, he said, "We'd like to hold the next consultations as early as possible by using the latest talks as leverage."