Abe says policy of pressuring N. Korea unchanged

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says Japan's policy of applying pressure to North Korea does not change just because its leadership is now open to dialogue.

Abe told a parliamentary session Thursday that North Korea should not be rewarded just for agreeing to talks. "We should not ease our stance, for instance relax sanctions, just because North Korea agreed to have a dialogue."

Abe said he will be briefed next week by one of South Korean envoys who met with leader Kim Jong Un recently. Seoul officials said after their visit that North Korea offered talks with the United States over normalizing ties and denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.