Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during their meeting on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia September 10, 2018. Mikhail Metzel/TASS Host Photo Agency/Pool via REUTERS

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Monday that talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin were moving towards a peace treaty.

Russia and Japan have not signed a peace treaty since World War II because of a dispute about Pacific islands known in Russia as the Kuriles and in Japan as the Northern Territories.

Abe also said after a meeting with Putin in Vladivostok that the head of Japan’s self-defense forces would visit Russia in October.

He added that it was necessary to resolve the problem of kidnapping of Japanese citizens by North Korea and that he had received Putin’s support on this.