Japan lifted some economic sanctions against North Korea on Friday after confirming that Pyongyang had formally established a special committee the same day to probe its kidnappings of Japanese in the 1970s and 1980s.
Tokyo promised to lift some of its sanctions if Pyongyang set up a full-fledged organization to again probe the abduction issue. However, other more powerful sanctions based on the United Nations resolutions remain in place, including a ban on imports and exports, and a freeze on North Korean assets in Japan.
Apparently concerned by Tokyo's decision to lift some of its sanctions, a senior White House official in Washington urged Japan not to make any compromises in its effort to have the North renounce its nuclear weapons development program.