Japan's government said it will lift some of its sanctions on North Korea after Kim Jong Il agreed to begin a new investigation into the abduction of Japanese citizens.
Japan agreed to lift the sanctions after officials met with their North Korean counterparts in Beijing, Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said today.
Japan will end travel restrictions and allow North Korean ships with humanitarian cargo to call on ports, he added.
North Korea admitted in 2002 that it had abducted 13 Japanese nationals during the 1970s and 1980s and has returned five. Japan says there are 17 victims in total and has demanded North Korea open a new investigation.
Japan stopped all trade and exports with North Korea in October 2006 after the country detonated a nuclear device. Japan last renewed sanctions, which it reviews every six months, in April.
The agreement to ease sanctions may help boost Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's approval rating, which has fallen by half since he took office in September.
Kim told former South Korean president Roh Moo-Hyun that there were no more abductees during his October visit to Pyongyang, it was reported.