Talks between Japan and North Korea aimed at resolving a dispute over Japanese nationals abducted by the North decades ago ended Sunday without progress, Japanese officials said. Tokyo also reportedly seized the opportunity to express concern over a possible missile test by Pyongyang. Shinzo Abe, secretary general of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said Japan will consider imposing economic sanctions against North Korea if it does not take a "more sincere approach" toward the abduction issue, according to Kyodo news agency. "It is natural that we should begin studying measures to apply pressure and economic sanctions," Abe was quoted as saying in a speech held in southern Japan's Yamaguchi prefecture (state). The report did not elaborate on what measures were being considered. A spokesman for Japan's foreign ministry confirmed the talks had ended but refused to provide any details. Japanese public broadcaster NHK quoted North Korean envoy Song Il Ho as saying the two sides, who met in Beijing, had exchanged views on the missing persons and planned to cooperate in further discussing the issue. The working-level talks were the second round of meetings on Japanese who were captured in the 1970s and 1980s, apparently to train North Korean agents in Japanese language and culture. Japan has asked North Korea to meet again by mid-November, Kyodo said.
