Japan and North Korea held informal talks earlier this month in China to discuss ways to advance the issue of Pyongyang’s abductions of Japanese nationals in the 1970s and 1980s, sources familiar with bilateral relations said Thursday. In the meeting involving Foreign Ministry officials from the two countries, Japan is believed to have urged North Korea to reinvestigate the cases of abductees in exchange for lifting unilateral sanctions on Pyongyang in stages. North Korea appears to have expressed readiness to reinvestigate the fate of the abductees on condition that Japan eases sanctions and allow Pyongyang to continue using its de facto embassy in Tokyo, according to Japan’s News (Kyodo).