Pyongyang told Tokyo that it is still in "an early stage" of its second investigation into missing Japanese and plans to finish the probe in about a year, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga revealed Friday.
The North had earlier promised to submit the first report from the special investigation committee on missing Japanese, including those who were allegedly abducted by North Korean spies, in "late summer or early fall."
But Pyongyang told Tokyo on Thursday that it currently can only report the results of the investigation's "early stage," Suga said during his regularly scheduled news conference.