The families of Japanese abducted by North Korea decades ago increased pressure on the government to achieve a breakthrough Wednesday as leader Kim Jong Il's third son was effectively put on track to succeed his father.

"The current North Korean move offers a chance to get the abductees back," said Kayoko Arimoto, whose daughter, Keiko, was kidnapped in 1983 at age 23.

Pyongyang says she died in an accident.