North Korea will deliver its first report as early as the second week of September on its full-scale investigation into the fate of Japanese nationals abducted by its agents in the past, a government official in Tokyo said Wednesday.
Attention will be focused on whether the report mentions the 12 Japanese on Tokyo's official list of 17 abduction victims who remain missing as well as others considered highly likely to have been abducted by North Korean agents.
Five abductees were repatriated in 2002, following a landmark visit to Pyongyang by then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. Some had expected the first report to come out in late August, but Pyongyang appears to need more time.
Japan will try to arrange a director general-level meeting with North Korea to receive the first report.
In early July, Japan lifted some of its unilateral sanctions on North Korea after Pyongyang launched a special committee to investigate the whereabouts of the Japanese.
The longstanding abduction issue has contributed to the two countries' failure to normalize relations.