Japan cautious while South Korea upbeat after North Korea talks in Tokyo

South Korea's National Intelligence Service chief Suh Hoon (L) meets Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo, Japan March 13, 2018. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

TOKYO (Reuters) - Differences between Japan and South Korea on how to handle North Korea emerged on Tuesday with South Korea upbeat on prospects but a more cautious Japan demanding that North Korea account for Japanese people it says North Korea abducted decades ago.

Signs of easing tension with North Korea began during the Winter Olympics last month, when the North sent a high-level delegation to the South for the Games, after more than a year of rising alarm over the North's nuclear weapon and missile tests.