it's time now for "newsline." i'm keiko kitagawa in tokyo. a diplomatic race is under way to stop north korea from carrying out another nuclear test. u.s. diplomat glen davis said his country will work with china on keeping them from following through on their threat. davis spoke in beijing after meeting with talks on the nuclear program. >> we have a strong degree of consensus that a nuclear test would be deeply troubling and would set back efforts to

denuclearize the korean peninsula. >> da virksvies is scheduled to with the head of asia foreign affairs at the ministry. pun ging moon is urging them not to go ahead with their tests. the u.n. security council passed a resolution condemning them for testing rockets last month. it brought tightening sanctions against the country. north korean leaders say they used the rocket to send a satellite into space, but many nations considered the launch a test of nuclear ballistic technology. japanese officials say engineers in the north have likely improved their ability to control missiles. the officials released a report under the nemesis of the launch. they used data from ships in the

defense system. they said the missiles had three stages and flew from north korea's northwest coast toward the south. they said it appeared to turn westward over the east china sea over south korea. they saw something from the third stage go into orbit, what north korea called a satellite and they say it's still there. they point out any rocket that puts a satellite into orbit needs to change course by adjusting its thrust. so the japanese defense officials say the north koreans appear to have improved their control technology. a former admiral of japan's maritime self-defense force said leaders need to keep a close watch on the north koreans. he warns they may develop the technology to put long-range ballistic missiles into service. prime minister shinzo abe is taking a new action over a decades-old issue involving korea.

agents from the nation abducted citizens in the 1970s and 1980s, and it's unclear whether the ab dua abductees are alive or dead. they decided to get all ministers involved in the abduction task force instead of only a few of them, and will set up a panel of lawmakers of different parties and another panel of experts. >> translator: i am determined to fully resolve the issue while i'm in power. >> abduction issue minister k. g.futea followed up on abe's

statement, saying the government will do everything it can to seek a solution. relations between japan and china may be about to improve, albeit slowly. the head of the communist party is saying he seriously is considering the possibility of high-level dialogue. they want that dialogue, but they're moving cautiously because of the chinese-claimed islands claimed by japan. the junior partner in the coalition asked the chinese to arrange summit talks. she said chinese and japanese should meet. he said he is seriously considering the possibility. an official with the japanese foreign ministry said chi's comments suggested they could improve. he said they were the most positive remarks from any chinese leader since the japanese government nationalized the senkaku islands last september. chinese and taiwan claim those islands. japan says there is no question

the territory belongs to taiwan. he said the issue of who owns the island is not settled. they said leaders should settle it through dialogue and negotiation. he said they doubted negotiations will improve dramatically. japanese aviation officials are putting more investigators on the case of a battery malfunction on a boeing 787 dreamliner. they're trying to find out why the battery produced smoke that forced an oil leak that forced a pilot to make an emergency landing. investigators with the japan transport safety board retrieved the lithium i.m. battery from the plane. they suspect it overheated and started smoking while the plane was airborne. the investigators went to the headquarters of the battery's manufacturer. they dismantled the battery but couldn't figure out why it had malfunctioned. they are now examining the battery's charger.

they plan to visit the company that made the charger in the united states. the investigators may have to search for clues at even more companies. a firm in france designed the entire battery system. a company in japan made a device that monitored the battery's temperature and voltage. the investigators say they'll share information with u.s. officials, trying to figure out why a 787 battery caught fire on the ground. the u.s. officials say that battery shows evidence of short-circuiting and thermal runaway. toyota is facing growing demand in russia. they are pushing ahead with a plan to build 400 new vehicles in the far east. toyota is getting ready to build the cars at a plant owned by a japanese trading house and russian automaker solas. russia's prime minister deputy o

oshuvalov is anxious. >> some of toyota's automobiles will go into production here. >> they're assembling parts from japan. they plan to start full-scale production next month. they aim to build about 12,000 suvs a year. the cars are well suited to parts of russia that get lots of snow. russians bought nearly 3 million new cars last year. that's an increase of 11% from the year before, and not far behind the world's biggest car market, germany. that's not the only japanese car maker. master vehicles began rolling off a production line there in september. here's the extended forecast.

that concludes this edition of "newsline." i'm keiko kitigawa in tokyo. thank you for watching.