Two officials handling the issue of abductions of Japanese nationals by North Korea are in Mongolia seeking the country's cooperation in the matter, a government source said Wednesday.

Hideshi Mitani, a special adviser to the Cabinet Office and former head of the secretariat of the government's headquarters on the abduction issue, and Shoichiro Ishikawa, Mitani's successor at the secretariat, have been in Ulan Bator since Tuesday and are expected to meet with Mongolian government officials, according to the source.

Mongolia has been acting as a liaison between Japan and North Korea, which have no diplomatic ties due to a host of outstanding issues — the abductions in the 1970s and 1980s being chief among them.