Tokyo exhorted Pyongyang on Thursday to take "concrete action" toward resolving the issue of abductions of Japanese nationals in the 1970s and 1980s, along with its denuclearization.
Katsunobu Kato, minister in charge of the abduction issue, made the comments at the U.N. headquarters in New York during a symposium on the human rights situation in North Korea.
Referring to the upcoming U.S.-North Korea summit, he said, "It is important that the United States raise the issue of abduction and entice action from North Korea."