U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday urged North Korea to correct the "historic wrong" of its past abductions of Japanese nationals in the 1970s and 1980s, and to fully explain the situations of those still unaccounted for.

In a meeting in Tokyo with the families of Japanese people who were abducted by North Korean agents, Biden expressed his condolences and "called on North Korea to right this historic wrong and provide a full accounting of the 12 Japanese nationals who remain missing," according to the White House.

Biden met with the families "to express solidarity with the victims" and give support to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's efforts to "resolve this painful issue," the White House added.