Japan and North Korea secretly negotiate over abducted hostages

On June 13, South Korea's JoongAng Ilbo newspaper reported that Japan and North Korea held a secret meeting in Mongolia in mid-May, as Tokyo attempted to resolve the issue of Japanese citizens abducted in the past.

The meeting took place near the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar. Japan and North Korea were also scheduled to hold another meeting last week in China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region, but it is unclear whether the meeting will take place as planned, JoongAng Ilbo reported.

On May 11, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced to step up efforts to promote a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to bring back the abductees, while pledging to promote high-level bilateral talks and calling for support from the US and the international community.

Japan and North Korea do not have formal diplomatic relations. The two countries have long been at odds over the issue of citizens abducted in the 1970s and 1980s. Japan officially lists 17 of its citizens as having been abducted by North Korea, five of whom were repatriated in 2002. Japan has asked North Korea to return the remaining 12. Pyongyang, however, has insisted that eight of them have died and four have never been to North Korea.

SOUTH