Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Thursday that the Japanese government has decided to remove some sanctions it has imposed on North Korea in return for the latter's agreement in setting up an investigation about Japanese abductions done by the North Korean regime in the 1970s and 1980s.

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After talks between the two countries, Abe released a brief statement to reporters that his country is planning to ease some sanctions on North Korea since it agreed to hold investigations about the abductions as a fresh report surfaced indicating that some of them were alive.

"Under the principle of matching action with action, Japan will lift a portion of its sanctions" on North Korea, PM Abe said.

Some of the restrictions to be lifted will be the travel curbs to and from North Korea, the ban of port calls by North Korean ships for humanitarian purposes and limits on the amount of money that can be sent or brought to North Korea without telling the Japanese. A formal decision on this could come at a Cabinet meeting on Friday.

Decades ago, dozens-or maybe even hundreds of Japanese were seized by North Korea when Pyongyang pursued citizens from different countries to train North Korean agents for overseas espionage.

In the early 2000s, the North had admitted to abductions of 13 Japanese nationals and returned five, claiming that the others had died.

According to the Nikkei business daily, the North has handed at least 10 names of Japanese nationals said to be living in their country which includes some who are believed to have been abducted.

"This is just a start. We will make every effort to achieve a complete resolution of this issue," he promises as the Japanese prime minister has focused on the fate of the abductees during his political career.

Families of the abductees are waiting to see if the diplomatic moves will lead to the resolution, or at least give them answers on the case about their relatives.

TagsPrime Minister Shinzo Abe, North Korea, Pyongyang