There are concerns that international sanctions against North Korea, aimed at dismantling its nuclear weapons program, could be a casualty of Pyongyang's warming relations with Japan. The Tokyo government has agreed to progressively lift its trade sanctions if Pyongyang sticks to a commitment to fully investigate its abduction of Japanese in the 1970s and 1980s. Japan was North Korea's second-largest trade partner before sanctions were applied in 2000. Some predictions are that North Korea's current annual total trade volume of $7.3 billion could jump by $2 billion if Japan lifts its sanctions.
