Calls to impose economic sanctions on North Korea grew louder Tuesday among the Liberal Democratic Party and relatives of abductees to the reclusive state, who charged that the latest talks in Pyongyang were effectively fruitless.

"I think essential conditions have been met to impose sanctions at this stage," LDP Deputy Secretary General Shinzo Abe said after a meeting of the party's panel on the abduction issue.

A delegation looking into the fates of 10 missing Japanese returned Monday from a weeklong visit to Pyongyang, during which North Korea reiterated that eight of the 10 had died and the other two had never entered the country.

Abe criticized North Korea as "insincere," claiming the North refused to admit that three North Korean agents Japan believes to be perpetrators in the abductions were actually involved in the kidnappings.

Japan has placed Shin Gwan Su and two other North Korean agents on an international wanted list for allegedly abducting Japanese nationals in the 1970s and 1980s.

During the talks, North Korean officials denied the three were involved in the abductions and refused to allow the delegates to interview them. Japan believes the three are still in North Korea.

During the panel meeting, one participant said the Diet should adopt a resolution calling for economic sanctions. According to Abe, none of the participants voiced reluctance toward imposing sanctions.

The top government spokesman meanwhile avoided commenting directly on the possibility of sanctions.

"We will consider what to do next after analyzing the overall situation," including the materials and documents North Korea provided during the bilateral talks, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda said.

Economic sanctions would include banning cash remittances to North Korea and stopping North Korean ships from entering Japanese ports.

In a separate meeting, relatives of the abductees, their supporters and lawmakers working on behalf of the abductees and their kin released a statement calling for immediate sanctions.

Takeo Hiranuma, a former trade minister and head of the lawmakers' group, said North Korea's attitude remains effectively unchanged since September 2002, when it first admitted it had kidnapped 13 Japanese and said five were still alive. It later allowed them to return home.

Japan remains unconvinced about Pyongyang's account that the eight others are dead and is seeking further information about them, as well as other missing Japanese.

"Since the North Korean side is not willing to show a sincere attitude, we should consider imposing sanctions," Hiranuma said. "We call for an immediate imposition."

Shigeru Yokota, father of Megumi Yokota, urged the government to freeze humanitarian aid, including the remaining half of the 250,000 tons of food aid promised by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in May.

Megumi Yokota is one of the abductees whom the North claims has died. The delegation brought back her purported remains Monday. Officials plan to conduct a DNA test to determine their identity.

Yokota also said he hopes Japan will not resume normalization talks with North Korea until the abduction issue is resolved.

He and his wife, Sakie, showed reporters three photographs of Megumi that were among the materials North Korea handed over to the Japanese delegation during the talks.

One shows Megumi wearing what appears to be a school uniform and the other two show her as an adult. Pyongyang says she married a North Korean man in 1986 and committed suicide in 1994.

"For us, this photo (of Megumi in school uniform) is the saddest of all," said Sakie Yokota, who was on the verge of tears. "She looks as though she is trying to endure what has happened to her. I feel pity for her."

North Korea did not explain when and where the pictures were taken, she quoted Japanese officials as saying.