The government has begun an informal study into the possibility of imposing economic sanctions on North Korea, Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura said Sunday.

"The LDP has already conducted simulations. We have also started work within the government to study" the possibility of imposing sanctions, Machimura said on an NHK TV program.

Referring to a Japanese delegation that has been in Pyongyang for talks on the abduction issue, Machimura said, "We are not planning to resort to our last measure (of sanctions) because the talks are still ongoing."

"We will fully analyze the outcome of the latest talks and take necessary policy measures," he said. "One option could be imposing economic sanctions."

Abductees' belongings

Japanese officials in North Korea for abduction talks plan to bring back documents and other items relating to abduction victims when they return Monday, Senior Vice Foreign Minister Ichiro Aisawa said.

"I don't know how much of the various material, such as personal effects and things (related to the missing abductees), can be gathered, but they are very important," Aisawa said on a Sunday morning Fuji TV program.

"We chose to charter a flight because we thought we must absolutely not damage these things," Aisawa added. "We want to analyze them carefully in Tokyo."

The items were believed to include medical records and belongings of the Japanese abductees.

An All Nippon Airways plane was scheduled to head for Pyongyang on Monday morning to pick up the delegation and the items, according to sources in the government and the ruling coalition.