Kyodo News says Tokyo is considering resuming government-level talks with North Korea with the aim of uncovering the fate of Japanese nationals abducted by the North.

Kyodo reported Tuesday that the bilateral talks would cover a reinvestigation of Japanese nationals taken by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s, and the return home of Japanese women who accompanied their Korean spouses to North Korea decades ago. Kyodo quoted sources as saying that such talks would be held in a third country, such as Mongolia.

The news agency said the decision to consider re-upping the talks followed last week’s trip by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s top adviser, Isao Iijima, to North Korea.

The Japanese government said Iijima told North Korean officials that Tokyo’s basic policy is to see the return of all Japanese nationals abducted by the North.

Iijima briefed Abe on his visit to the North during a meeting at the prime minister’s official residence on Tuesday.