Pyongyang gave Foreign Ministry officials information on the fate of the abducted Japanese before the Sept. 17 summit between Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, government sources said Wednesday.
During preparatory talks, the North Korean government clearly told the officials that some of the Japanese were dead and some were alive, the sources said.
Pyongyang also said it would provide information on several of the Japanese at the summit. But it did not say Kim would officially acknowledge the abductions and apologize, which he did at the meeting.