North Korea has told Japan that it needs "yet some more time" to conclude its probe into the fate of Japanese nationals in the reclusive state, including those abducted by North Korean agents in the 1970s and '80s. The announcement last week, made just two days before a year had passed since Pyongyang set up a special investigation committee on the matter, is highly regrettable in view of the suffering of the abduction victims' aging parents. But Tokyo should be careful in weighing what steps it should take to get Pyongyang to resolve the abduction issue and other bilateral concerns.
Pyongyang informed Tokyo in September that it would take about a year for the committee to finish its probe, but it did not say when that time frame begins and ends. The latest words from Pyongyang may indicate that the regime is trying to win concessions from Japan by prolonging the negotiations — a tactic it has often employed in the past.
Lawmakers in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party have urged the government to step up pressure on North Korea, including reinstating the sanctions that Tokyo lifted after Pyongyang launched its probe. That might be an option, but the experience of dealing with North Korea for more than 10 years after it admitted in 2002 to having kidnapped more than a dozen Japanese appears to show that adding pressure alone won't work. The government should continue to call on Pyongyang to disclose what has happened to the abduction victims and at the same time prepare steps to increase pressure on the regime.