TOKYO—A senior Japanese official said Tokyo will make its own overtures to North Korea on what it claims are abductions of Japanese citizens, dismissing U.S. and South Korean concern that the North may try to drive a wedge between the three allies.

A surprise trip to Pyongyang last week by Isao Iijima, a senior aide to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, irked Japan's allies, who fear such moves could undermine coordinated efforts to pressure North Korea into dropping its nuclear and missile programs.

Keiji Furuya, state minister in charge of the abductions issue, said Tuesday that Japan must take the initiative in resolving the abductions, which are an obstacle to normalizing relations between the two countries.

"The United States and South Korea cannot solve Japan's abduction issue," Mr. Furuya said in an interview. "Since these are Japanese nationals who have been abducted, it's necessary that our nation solve it as a sovereign state," he added.

The U.S. and South Korea last week warned that the trip to Pyongyang by Mr. Iijima, a top adviser to the Abe cabinet, may hurt efforts to pressure North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. A South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman said there had been no prior notice from Tokyo about the trip, calling it "unhelpful."

Glyn Davies, U.S. special representative on North Korea, warned the North would try to play the three allies off against each other. He said "the U.S. was aware Pyongyang would shift its strategy to seek engagement in an effort to split us and to exploit any differences in our respective national positions."

Mr. Furuya played down the allies' concerns, stressing the importance of the alliance. He questioned whether Seoul's reaction to Mr. Iijima's visit was productive. "Sometimes South Korea shows such a reaction," he said. "Would it benefit South Korea if it were to take an antagonistic approach to Japan? The answer is no."

Tensions have remained high following Pyongyang's launch of a long-range missile last December, followed by a nuclear test in February and repeated threats of war in recent months. On Monday, the North launched two short-range missiles from its eastern coast into the sea, following a launch of four similar missiles over the weekend.

Mr. Iijima's trip to Pyongyang was the first by an Abe administration official. Talks between the two nations had been stalled since late last year, after resuming in August for the first time in four years. Mr. Abe has defined the abduction issue as a foreign-policy priority, vowing to resolve it during his tenure. He told parliament recently he would consider a bilateral summit with Mr. Kim if it leads a resolution of the issue.

Japan is also a member of suspended six-party talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear ambitions; the talks include the U.S. and South Korea.

Few details of Mr. Iijima's visit have been revealed. Mr. Furuya said Mr. Iijima told Pyongyang it shouldn't expect concessions from Tokyo unless the abductions are fully resolved. Mr. Iijima "clearly conveyed this" to Kim Yong Nam, head of the North's Parliament, Mr. Furuya said.

North Korea is suspected of abducting foreigners in the 1970s and 1980s. It has admitted to abducting 13 Japanese nationals, and has returned five along with family members. It claims the rest are dead. Tokyo officially recognizes 17 abductees and suspects there may be hundreds more.

Mr. Furuya expressed confidence about finding a solution."Kim Jong Un is not directly involved in the abductions…when considering various factors necessary to maintain the regime, there will come a time when he himself will need to make a decision regarding which direction to steer North Korea," Mr. Furuya said.

Write to Alexander Martin at and George Nishiyama at

Corrections & Amplifications
Japan's Keiji Furuya said the government must take the initiative in trying to resolve the issue of alleged North Korean abductions of Japanese citizens, but didn't rule out cooperation with other countries. An earlier version of this article incorrectly characterized Mr. Furuya as saying that Japan must act alone, without involving allies such as the U.S. and South Korea who have expressed concern with Tokyo's overtures.