Discussions concerning the imposition of economic sanctions against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (hereafter referred to as "North Korea") began after the Prime Minister Koizumi's first visit to Pyongyang on September 22, 2002. Chairman Kim Jong-Ilacknowledged that Japanese citizens had been abducted to North Korea and offered his apologies, stating that it was the work of persons affiliated with North Korea in the past. This turned what had previously been merely "suspected abductions" into real cases of abduction. (The rest is omitted.)