Japan's Abe: Hopes to resume formal talks with N.Korea soon

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is seen through a screen attached to a television camera as he speaks during a news conference at his official residence in Tokyo March 20, 2014, after Japan's parliament enacts a budget for fiscal 2014. REUTERS/Yuya Shino

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Thursday he hopes to resume formal talks with North Korea as soon as possible. Abe also said that talks between officials from the Japanese and North Korean affiliates of the Red Cross this month on the return of the remains of Japanese nationals from North Korea was an important step toward repairing relations. Formal talks between Japan and North Korea have been suspended since North Korea launched a rocket which it said put a weather satellite into orbit in December 2012. (Reporting by Stanley White; Editing by Edmund Klamann)