Story highlights North Korea abducted more than a dozen Japanese citizens in the 1970s and 1980s

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has tried to bring international attention to the topic

Tokyo (CNN) US President Donald Trump hinted at the possibility of a diplomatic breakthrough with North Korea, were the country to release a number of Japanese citizens abducted by the regime more than two decades ago.

Trump, who is in Tokyo on a diplomatic tour of Asia, made the comments after attending a meeting with the families of those kidnapped by North Korean agents Monday.

Some of the families are still waiting on any information about their loved ones, years after they first disappeared. "I think it would be a tremendous signal if Kim Jong Un would send them back," Trump said during a press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe following the meeting. "That would be the start of something I think would be just something very special if they would do that."

The issue of North Korean abductions remains highly charged within Japan, where over a dozen people remain missing after being abducted by alleged North Korean agents in the 1970s and 1980s. Pyongyang admitted to some of the abductions in the early 2000s, but Tokyo has accused North Korea of not being completely transparent.

At the press conference, Trump compared the case of one abductee to Otto Warmbier, an American college student who was detained by North Korea and released in dire condition. He died just days after returning to the United States.

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