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At the summit Kim made the startling admission that 13 Japanese citizens were kidnapped by Pyongyang agents in the 1970s and 80s, of whom eight have died.

Wide-ranging talks

The talks would also cover a North Korean spy ship, Pyongyang's suspected nuclear weapons development and Tokyo's economic cooperation to compensate for Japanese colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945, it said.

Transport Minister Chikage Ogi said Friday Japan concluded a vessel salvaged in early September from the East China Sea was definitely a North Korean spy ship.

The boat sank in December last year with the presumed loss of all on board after a firefight with Japan's coast guard after entering Japan's economic zone waters. AFP