Japan was considering the resumption of bilateral talks with North Korea in hopes of making progress on the abduction issue following a recent trip to Pyongyang by one of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's top advisers, sources said Tuesday.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga indicated at a news conference the same day that future bilateral negotiations — suspended since last December — would be conducted through the Foreign Ministry rather than the back channel used by Abe adviser Isao Iijima during his trip to the North last week.
If resumed, however, Japan will face the difficult task of balancing international coordination on North Korea's nuclear program with Tokyo's desire to engage Pyongyang on the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by the Stalinist nation.