Japan will strengthen the role of the abductees task force it established three years ago in an effort to resolve the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea.

A Japanese national security director says the task force must be bolstered if the current stalemate on the abductees issue is to be defused.

He said the abductees office will not only be further staffed and funded, but will be given access to intelligence sharing channels with related departments including the foreign ministry.

Tokyo set up the headquarters, headed by the prime minister, with the goal of safely bringing home all Japanese abductees in North Korea.