Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama says he is prepared to work for a conditional normalization of diplomatic relations with North Korea.

Hatoyama said he would pursue such a move if the North shows a definitive willingness to resolve the issue of Japanese abducted by the communist state and is willing to abandon its nuclear and missile development programs.

The Japanese leader told Thailand’s Bangkok Post on Wednesday that Tokyo will normalize ties on the basis of the Pyongyang Declaration signed in 2002.

However, Hatoyama said his administration considers the Japan-U.S. alliance the fundamental cornerstone of its foreign policy.

In September 2002, former Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il adopted the Pyongyang Declaration to establish a fruitful political, economic and cultural relationship between the two countries by resolving past discrepancies and outstanding issues of concern.