Japan and North Korea’s foreign ministers held a rare meeting in Myanmar over the weekend.

Japan’s Fumio Kishida and North Korea’s Ri Su Yong discussed a recent agreement for the North to reinvestigate its abductions of Japanese citizens in the 1970s and 80s.

Kishida said they reviewed progress in the new investigation and touched on the North’s nuclear weapons and missile programs.

Japan is looking for movement on the abductions in return for lifting sanctions on North Korea.

The US and South Korea support Japan’s efforts but want it to maintain pressure on the North to abandon its nuclear and missile programs.