Japan denies report on Abe visit to N. Korea

TOKYO/SEOUL, Aug. 11 (Yonhap) -- Japan Tuesday denied a South Korean media report that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is planning a surprise visit to North Korea to resolve the issue of Japanese citizens who were abducted by the North decades ago. According to South Korean broadcaster YTN, Japan and North Korea held secret talks in Mongolia in July to discuss the lifting of Japanese sanctions on the North ahead of a visit to Pyongyang by Abe later this month. In July last year, North Korea agreed to conduct a probe into the fate of the Japanese citizens it abducted in the 1970s and 80s in exchange for partial sanctions relief. However, progress on the investigation has been reported to be slow. "I have no idea what the basis for that report was," Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said during a press briefing. "There are no such plans." Asked whether a visit to North Korea by Abe could be an option for the resolution of the abduction issue, he answered that the Japanese government places utmost importance on it and is doing everything in its power to find a solution. In Seoul, South Korea's Foreign Ministry denied any knowledge of the reported trip. "We are closely following the situation but have no knowledge of Prime Minister Abe's visit to North Korea in August," ministry spokesman Noh Kwang-il said during a press briefing. "We are aware that there are various types of contact through various channels between North Korea and Japan over the issue of the abduction victims." Last week, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Su-yong and his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida held talks on the sidelines of a regional security forum in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The abduction issue was a topic of their discussions, Japan's Kyodo news agency quoted Kishida as saying. hague@yna.co.kr (END)