North Korea signaled to Japan early this month that it is prepared to reinvestigate the festering issue of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korean agents in the 1970s and ’80s. This is a surprising turnabout. It would be good if this North Korean move brought to an end the long-suffering ordeal of the Japanese family members of the abductees.

North Korea had been insisting that the abduction matter was resolved, and accused Japan of harping on the issue to cover up its crimes against the Korean people during the era of colonial occupation. For Japan, the abductions are a continuing source of public outrage.

Last month, North Korea allowed the daughter of Megumi Yokota, who was abducted in 1977 on her way home from school at the age of 13, to meet Ms. Yokota’s parents in the Mongolian capital, Ulan Bator. Ms. Yokota’s 78-year-old mother said the days spent with her granddaughter were dreamlike.

In 2002, after years of denial, North Korea admitted to kidnapping 13 Japanese to help train spies; it returned five abductees but said eight were dead, including Ms. Yokota. North Korea’s leader at the time, Kim Jong-il, apologized to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi of Japan and said the abductions had been conducted without his knowledge. North Korea presented eight death certificates, which were found to be bogus.