Japanese leaders welcomed on Tuesday the results of a meeting Monday between representatives of the Red Cross societies of Japan and North Korea in which Pyongyang agreed to take appropriate steps if it locates any missing Japanese nationals.

North Korea also agreed during the meeting in Beijing to allow Japanese wives of North Koreans to resume their visits to Japan.

The joint statement issued by the delegations was lauded in Tokyo by several government officials, including Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi, as a significant step toward solving bilateral humanitarian issues.

There was progress in determining the whereabouts of missing Japanese believed to have been abducted by North Korean agents and realizing the wives' visits, Obuchi said at his official residence.

Foreign Minister Yohei Kono also welcomed the statement, saying, "Since both sides have wanted to be engaged in sincere discussions and advance relations step by step, the latest meeting between the two Red Cross societies is indeed a step forward."

Referring to the "appropriate steps" North Korea has promised to take, Chief Cabinet Secretary Mikio Aoki said, "We understand that 'appropriate steps' means to allow those Japanese to come back to Japan if they wish to do so."

Japan claims that at least 10 of its citizens were abducted by North Korean agents in the 1970s and 1980s. The issue, which North Korea vehemently denies, led to the collapse of earlier normalization talks in 1992.

Despite Monday's agreement, observers doubt if the search will be productive.

Talks on full-fledged negotiations about normalizing ties between the two countries are expected to begin in Pyongyang in early April.

In Monday's statement, Japan also promised to "seriously investigate" the issue of Koreans who are listed as missing in the period up to 1945, when Japan's 35-year colonial rule of Korea ended. The Japanese side would take up the investigation when North Korea submits a list of such people.