Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was tightlipped on Wednesday about a senior aide's surprise visit to Pyongyang and refused to give details on the purpose of the trip.

"As the prime minister, I have no comment on the matter," Abe told a parliamentary committee the day after special adviser Isao Iijima arrived in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Iijima was greeted at the airport in Pyongyang by Kim Chol-ho, vice-director of the DPRK Foreign Ministry's Asian affairs department, according to Japanese media.

AFP

(China Daily 05/16/2013 page11)