A group of 60 Japanese officials have made a rare visit to North Korea for a six day trip.
According to Kyodo News, the delegation from Yamanashi Prefecture arrived in Pyeongyang on Saturday,... led by Shingo Kanemaru.
He is the son of the late Japanese Deputy
Prime Minister Shin Kanemaru, who had met North Korea's founder Kim Il-sung during a visit to the North in 1990.
The two states have no formal diplomatic ties,... with relations remaining sour since Japan's brutal occupation of the Korean Peninsula in the early 20th century.
Japanese Prime Minister Shino Abe suggested holding a summit with the North's leader Kim Jong-un four months ago,... which Pyeongyang rejected as a "brazen" offer.