The head of a Liberal Democratic Party delegation to North Korea announced Wednesday that it reached a basic agreement with the Workers' Party of Korea during its recent visit to set up a bilateral liaison office in Pyongyang.
An exact date for the opening of the office was not decided, said House of Representatives member Masaaki Nakayama, because many hurdles need to be cleared first. These problems include progress in the controversial issue of missing Japanese nationals Tokyo believes were abducted by North Korean agents in the 1970s and 1980s.
Political differences of opinion have stopped Japan and North Korea from opening diplomatic relations.
During their three-day trip to North Korea, the seven-member mission examined the communist country's agricultural situation and had discussions with Kim Yong Sun, a secretary of the Workers' Party. They returned to Japan on Tuesday night.
Nakayama also met with some members of the Japanese Red Army who fled to North Korea from Japan in 1970 after hijacking a Japan Airlines airliner.
Nakayama suggested that the three members of the Japanese Red Army return to Japan, and Kim said Pyongyang would not stop them if they decided to do so, Nakayama said.
During talks with their Korean counterparts, the delegation suggested that a liaison office be set up in Pyongyang to make it easier for Japanese people to visit North Korea, and received a positive response, Nakayama said.