Japan and North Korea began three days of negotiations in Sweden on Monday, with Tokyo expected to press Pyongyang to reinvestigate the fates of Japanese citizens it abducted in the 1970s and 1980s and who remain missing.
Japan is considering lifting some of the sanctions it imposes on North Korea once it sees substantial progress, government sources said.
Japanese officials are watching for how North Korea may respond to the demand, made during the last round of talks, in late March in Beijing. It also demanded that the missing individuals be returned to Japan. Pyongyang has said it believes the abduction issue settled.