In Tokyo, the media have quoted Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi as saying that he was meeting Pyongyang's request when he visited North Korea last Saturday.

During a meeting with business figures Tuesday, Koizumi reportedly said he had no choice but to personally go to Pyongyang and bring back five family members of Japanese nationals who were abducted to the North decades ago. He said that Pyongyang had informed Tokyo it would not return the family members in the event Japan sent high-ranking officials other than Koizumi to the North, such as the foreign minister.

Koizumi's remarks came after Japanese political circles denounced him for having gone to the communist state personally to bring back only five, instead of all eight, family members of the abducted Japanese.

Last Saturday, Koizumi made a one-day trip to the communist state and succeeded in bringing back with him five of eight family members of former Japanese abductees, who were allowed to return to Japan in 2002.

Following last week's summit, Japan promised to provide 250,000 tons of food and ten million dollars worth of medical supplies to North Korea through a UN agency within two months.