Japan's Mainichi Shimbun newspaper says Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi ordered foreign ministry officials to make arrangements for his trip to North Korea.

The paper said Monday that Koizumi instructed Deputy Foreign Minister Hitoshi Tanaka late last month to resolve within this month the issue of retrieving the families of Japanese citizens who returned to Japan after being abducted to the North.

Tanaka reportedly conveyed Koizumi's wish to visit the North when he met North Korean officials in Beijing last week. Tanaka and his delegation also reportedly told the North that if the abductee issue is resolved, Tokyo is willing to resume negotiations on normalizing diplomatic relations between the two countries and to provide humanitarian aid to the North.

The report said Japan plans to hold another round of consultations this week with North Korean officials in China to discuss details for Koizumi's possible visit and the process of returning the abductees' family members.

Earlier on Sunday, the Sankei Shimbun newspaper said Koizumi will visit Pyongyang on May 23. Koizumi's trip would be his second following a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il in September 2002.