Calls to step up pressure against Pyongyang are likely to increase in Japan as recent bilateral talks on the fate of ten alleged Japanese abductees have produced little headway.

A Japanese government delegation returned Monday from North Korea with items connected with the case, including what Pyongyang says are the remains of a Japanese woman kidnapped 26 years ago.

According to the delegation, the North repeated its assertion that eight of the ten abductees are dead and the other two never entered its territory.

The families of the abductees, however, claimed that there was no evidence to support the North's claims, despite the items the delegation brought back from Pyongyang.

In a news conference, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said North Korea has not presented satisfactory explanations on the issue and that Japan will continue talks on the issue to learn more about what happened to the abductees.

The Kyodo News Agency said that calls are mounting to implement hard-line policy toward Pyongyang, including the imposition of economic sanctions, as the families of abductees are continuously expressing rage and disappointment over the North's handling of the abductee issue.