Wednesday's surprise visit by two senior Foreign Ministry officials to Pyongyang has fueled speculation -- or, to be more precise, expectation -- among the public that there will be developments on the abduction issue.
Specifically, hopes have risen that the officials will return with the relatives of five Japanese who were kidnapped by North Korean spies in the 1970s before returning to Japan in October 2002.
Government officials warn, however, that it is unrealistic to expect North Korea to unconditionally permit the families of the five to visit Japan, as this would represent a complete about-face from its repeated demands that Tokyo have the five return to North Korea first.