"Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will visit Pyongyang, North Korea, on May 22 to meet with Chairman of National Defense Committee Kim Jong-Il," Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda told reporters at a regular briefing.

"The purpose of the visit also is to revitalise the trust between Japan and North Korea."

"The prime minister will discuss various issues between Japan and North Korea, including abduction cases, and security issues such as the nuclear case," Hosoda said.

The one-day trip will be Koizumi's second visit to Pyongyang, following a landmark summit with Kim in September 2002 at which North Korea admitted its agents had abducted at least 13 Japanese citizens in the 1970s and 1980s.

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