In a move to pressure North Korea a day before bilateral talks between Tokyo and Pyongyang are to start in Beijing, Foreign Minister Taro Aso said Friday that Tokyo may consider abandoning the three-track talks on security, abduction and normalization if there is no progress on the abduction issue.
Among the three main issues up for discussion, Japan has placed priority on resolving the issue of abductions of its nationals by North Korean agents in the 1970s and 1980s.
Aso's remark appears aimed at pushing North Korea to provide concrete information on the fate of the abductees.