Arrangements are being made with North Korea to hold another round of working-level talks on the abduction issue later this month, government sources said.

That is when Pyongyang is expected to set up a special panel to reinvestigate its abductions of Japanese, as agreed to with Tokyo late last month.

Tokyo plans to ask North Korea to give priority to finding 77 Japanese who were possibly abducted and 12 official abductees who have not returned, the sources said Saturday.