Japanese media say North Korean leader Kim Jong-il told South Korean officials during the recent inter-Korean summit that no Japanese abductees remained in the reclusive state.

The reports out of Japan quoted Yonsei University Professor Moon Chung-in, who accompanied President Roh Moo-hyun on his Pyongyang trip last week.

The reports said that Kim's declaration has further clouded the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korean agents in the 1970s and '80s.