Japanese delegates were expected to press for current facts rather than past accounts as they entered talks with North Korean officials Tuesday to clarify the fate of 10 abductees Pyongyang has declared dead or fate unknown.

The 19-member delegation headed by Mitoji Yabunaka, director-general of the Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, arrived in Pyongyang on Tuesday afternoon.

The North Korean side includes Song Il Ho, a senior Foreign Ministry official. The four-day talks are scheduled to end Friday. The two sides were expected to begin full-fledged talks Tuesday evening or today.

The Japanese delegation includes officials from the Cabinet Secretariat office for supporting abductees, the National Police Agency and a forensics expert. They were to meet high-ranking Pyongyang diplomats and the head of a committee that re-opened investigations into the 10 cases.

Yabunaka told reporters, ``We will ask for a thorough investigation and clarification of facts regarding those whose fates are still unknown.''

About 70 family members of abductees and their supporters rallied Tuesday in front of the Prime Minister's Official Residence in Tokyo's Nagatacho district.

They want Tokyo to impose economic sanctions against Pyongyang if this round of bilateral talks is unproductive.

``The last two talks failed to gain any substantial progress, but with the participation of police officials in this delegation, North Korea can no longer get away,'' said Shigeru Yokota, head of a families' group and father of Megumi Yokota, an abductee who was declared dead by Pyongyang.

``We don't need any more explanations on past details. What we want to know is the whereabouts of our loved ones,'' said Shigeo Iizuka, whose sister Yaeko Taguchi is also among those Pyongyang says died.

``We are telling the North Koreans that depending on their response, calls for sanctions among the Japanese public can easily flare up,'' said a high-ranking Foreign Ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity.(IHT/Asahi: November 10,2004)