Japan, North Korea eye abduction talks in late March

Japan and North Korea are arranging to hold an official meeting as early as late March over the stalled talks on the North's past abductions of Japanese nationals, Kyodo News quoted sources familiar with bilateral relations as saying Saturday.
Official bilateral talks, if realized, would be the first since last October when senior officials of the two countries met in Pyongyang after North Korea proposed Japan send a mission there to learn about details of the North's investigations into the fates of Japanese nationals abducted decades ago.
Junichi Ihara, director general of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of the Japanese Foreign Ministry, is expected to attend the talks, while North Korea is likely to be represented by members of a special committee investigating into the abduction issue, or by Song Il Ho, North Korea's ambassador for negotiations to normalize relations with Japan, according to the sources.