Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is taking a big gamble by trusting North Korea, the world's most isolated nation and one with a notorious record of betrayal and delaying tactics designed to elicit greater concessions.
In a potential breakthrough, Pyongyang has agreed to reinvestigate the fates of Japanese who vanished in North Korea, including those suspected of being abducted by its agents, Abe said Thursday.
In return, Tokyo has pledged to lift certain economic sanctions if the investigation begins and may even extend economic assistance to Pyongyang if the probe generates tangible results, according to the bilateral agreement signed and released on Thursday.