North Korea has reportedly conveyed its position to Japan that if the two nations hold talks, Pyongyang will raise the issue of Korean victims of forced labor during Japan's colonial rule of Korea.

Quoting a source familiar with the North Korea-Japan relations, Japan's Kyodo News reported on Sunday that North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho delivered the position on December 8th in a meeting with his Mongolian counterpart during his trip to Mongolia.

The North Korean diplomat reportedly told Mongolian Foreign Minister Damdin Tsogtbaatar that if Pyongyang and Tokyo hold talks, North Korea cannot help but raise the issue as Tokyo is insisting the issue of Japanese abductees in the North must be resolved.

The Mongolian foreign minister reportedly conveyed Ri's remarks to Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono, during his visit to Japan in mid-December.