A Japanese daily says North Korea's abduction of Japanese nationals between the 1970s and the early 1980s was directed by North Korean leader Kim Jong-il who was secretary of the North's Workers' Party at the time.

The Asahi Shimbun said that according to a Japanese government survey, Kim directed operations that were led by the foreign intelligence division of the Workers' Party.

The report said the division was attached to an operational agency directly under the control of Kim Jong-il, who by that time had been confirmed as the successor to his father and late North Korean founder Kim Il-sung.

Asahi said there's a strong belief within the Tokyo government that Kim either ordered the Japanese abductions or at least knew about them before they occurred.