Pyongyang briefed Tokyo on its questioning of people suspected of involvement in the abductions of Japanese nationals when the two sides held an informal meeting in late January in Shanghai, according to a Japan-North Korea diplomatic source.
The move was apparently aimed at demonstrating North Korea's latest efforts to investigate the abductions of Japanese in the 1970s and 1980s, hoping Tokyo would further ease its economic sanctions on the country.
It appears, however, that the results of the latest questioning failed to bring about any progress on the issue of the Japanese abductees, the source said on Sunday.