Japan PM Abe: to lift some North Korea sanctions, make effort on abduction issue

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Thursday that Japan would lift some of its sanctions against North Korea and make utmost efforts for a comprehensive solution to the decades-old issue of Japanese citizens that were abducted by the reclusive state.

"This is just a start," he told reporters at the prime minister's office. "We will make every effort to achieve a complete resolution of this issue."