suga said no investigation will take priority over the others. he said all will proceed in parallel and the two sides discuss the timing of north korea's first report on the probe. he said both sides agree to aim for late summer or early autumn. he said the north koreans agree to expedite the investigation to meet his request that they finish it within one year. the japanese government will lift three sanctions on north korea, they cover restrictions on travel, port calls by ships and money transfers. but government officials remain concerned about the north's nuclear and missile development programs. officials say they'll keep an asset freeze in place based upon a u.n. security council resolution. and the abe administration will maintain its ban on a ship. the north koreans have been pushing japan to ease restrictions on the vessel. >>> north korea's envoy for normalizing relations with japan says his country is ready to begin its full fledged probe. he told reporters that delegates had a fruitful discussion in beijing on us ituesday. he explain

suga said the launches are against u.n. security council resolutions. >>> israel is stepping up its offensive against the islamic fundamentalist group hamas. israel's military launched a massive air raid on the gaza strip. at least 23 people have died and more than 100 have been wounded. israeli troops bombed about 150 targets in response to recent rocket attacks from gaza. palestinian officials say that civilians, including women and children, were among the casualties. an israeli raid in central gaza struck a car carrying hamas members. the attack killed three people. israeli military officials say palestinian fighters in gaza have launched around 160 rockets since monday night. the israeli military intercepted one rocket over the major city tel aviv. another landed in jerusalem. the officials also say that four hamas members were killed in a gunfight with israeli soldiers after making a seaborne landing in the south of the country. a spokesperson for the u.n. secretary-general says ban ki-moon condemns the exchange of vi

. >> that was yoshihide suga. he says north korea says the investigation into the abductions of japanese nationals will begin right away. the north has set up a special committee to carry out the investigation. now north korean leaders will give the special committee the power to launch an effective investigation into any organization in the reclusive nation. in return the japanese government will lift sanctions that include restrictions on travel, port calls by ships and tight regulations on money transfers. now this easing of sanctions will happen once north korea begins a new investigation into the abduction of japanese citizens in the 1970s and '80s. for those of you just joining us this is our lead story this hour. japan's prime minister has made a diplomatic decision aimed at solving a long standing and emotional issue. shinzo abe plans to lift some sanctions against north korea once investigators start a fresh probe into the kidnapping of japanese citizens. >> translator: the results of the inter-government

chief cabinet secretary yoshihide suga told recorders easing the sanctions were meant to urge north korea to change its attitude. >> translator: our ministers will work together to get north korea to take concrete and proactive action to resolve the abduction, nuclear test and missile launch issues. we'll keep some of our sanctions in place as well as those based on u.n. security council resolutions. resolving the abduction issue is of the highest importance for the abe administration. we'll do our utmost to resolve the problem as soon as possible. >>> the japanese government will keep other sanctions in place. they include keeping ships from entering japanese ports and freeze on assets against organizes and individuals in line with the u.n. security council resolution. >>> north korea state-run news agency confirmed that the country set up the special committee on friday. the korean central news agency says the panel will carry out what it calls a comprehensive investigation into all japanese in the north. the agency said that 30 member committee has a special mandate from the national d

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chief cabinet secretary yoshihide suga says leaders in pyongyang promise to report back in the next few months. japanese officials will set up direct channels of communication, including a telephone and fax line. they say in the past, north korean authorities have not been honest about what happened to the abductees and they want to monitor the progress of the investigation. many other japanese share those concerns. they want to know how far the north koreans are prepared to go. representatives of the national defense commission and the secret police will sit on the panel. investigators will be divided into four groups, each of which will cover a different area. they'll examine the fate of the abductees, other missing people, those left behind during world war ii, and spouses of north koreans. and finally the remains of those who died around the end of the war. some analysts fear those looking into the abductions will have difficulty investigating the agents who carried out the kidnappings. they say it's hard to dig up information on secret missions. the families of the abductees will m