North Korea suggested to a Japanese government official in early 2004 that there were some abductees other than 15 people who Tokyo recognized as abduction victims at that time, government sources said Sunday.

Yoshiyuki Inoue, who was in charge of the abduction issue at the Cabinet Office, sought information on abductees other than the 15 when he visited North Korea several times between late 2003 and January 2004, and the North Korean side indicated readiness to reveal the fates of some of them, according to the sources. It would go against Pyongyang’s stance that the abduction issue has already been resolved if the North recognizes the existence of other abductees. Inoue, who later served as secretary of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, declined to comment on the issue.