Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Saturday he was willing to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to try and resolve the issue of Japanese nationals abducted in the 1960s and 1970s, media reported.
"I am determined to face Kim Jong Un directly myself, without any preconditions," Kishida said at a gathering on the issue in Tokyo, the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper said. The Nikkei and Kyodo news agency carried similar reports.
Pyongyang admitted in 2002 to kidnapping 13 Japanese citizens decades before. Five abductees and their families later returned to Japan, saying the others had died.
However, according to local media, Tokyo believes 17 Japanese were abducted and continues to investigate the fate of those who didn't return.
Air traffic control issue disrupts flights at major UK airports
At least 73 injured after Houthi rebels attack Saudi civilian and energy facilities
UK, France and Canada sanction Israeli West Bank settlements
Suspect detained after sabotage attacks on Germany power grid
Nepal rescue focused on workers trapped in three tunnels
