Speculation is rising that Japan and North Korea will soon resume normalization talks after Hiroshi Nakai, former state minister in charge of the abduction issue, and a key North Korean official met secretly last week in Changchun, China.
Although government officials firmly deny any involvement in the talks between Nakai and Song Il Ho, North Korea's ambassador for normalization talks, details suggest this was not the case.
Nakai, a Democratic Party of Japan member who is now chairman of the Lower House Budget Committee, has denied that the meeting even took place.