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TOKYO, Sept. 30 Kyodo

Selected editorial excerpts from the Japanese press:

JAPAN-NORTH KOREA TALKS (IHT/Asahi as translated from the Japanese-language Asahi Shimbun's editorial published Sept. 29)

What on earth is Pyongyang up to? The more we learn about the outcome of recent working-level talks with North Korea on the abduction issue, the more we feel that Pyongyang simply cannot be trusted.

Take the case of Megumi Yokota, who Pyongyang reported dead when Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visited Pyongyang for his historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il two years ago.

At that time, the North Koreans admitted to a past policy of abducting Japanese citizens and declared that eight abductees were dead. Pyongyang claimed Megumi committed suicide at a hospital in March 1993. It even produced a copy of her death certificate.

During the latest talks, however, Pyongyang changed its story and explained that Megumi was ''hospitalized from April 29 through June 3 in 1993, and again from Aug. 3 through Oct. 8 that year.''

This new version arose when Japanese negotiators confronted the North Koreans with testimony by Kaoru Hasuike, a former abductee, that he had seen Megumi in 1994.

If the North Koreans think they can just ''revise'' their story and get away with it, they are dead wrong. They have effectively admitted that Megumi's dated death certificate was false. If that document was a forgery, how can anyone believe a word that has been said so far?

Yet, Pyongyang again insisted that all eight Japanese are dead, including Megumi. However, Pyongyang had no answer to the obvious question of what happened to Megumi after her last documented hospitalization. Nor did Pyongyang offer information on matters such as Megumi's medical record, the circumstances of her marriage, and whether she was with other Japanese abductees.

Are there more Japanese abductees living in North Korea? We cannot help but wonder.

The North Koreans explained that their investigations are being hampered by the ''special agency'' that was directly responsible for the abductions. But this excuse does not wash. After all, it was Kim Jong Il himself who admitted the abductions as fact and promised to punish the agents in question.

Shigeru Yokota, Megumi's father, noted, ''I just don't believe the North Koreans are investigating in earnest.''

If Pyongyang truly wants to apologize for the abductions and normalize relations with Tokyo, the obvious first step is to do everything possible to ascertain the fate of the missing Japanese and report its findings to the Japanese government. So long as Pyongyang continues to behave as if it means to buy time, Japanese public opinion is bound to swing in favor of sanctions, and this will hurt nobody else but the North Koreans themselves.

Tokyo is now demanding that the next round is held in Pyongyang, not Beijing, and that the North Korean officials in charge of the investigations attend the talks. Pyongyang should comply.

Getting Pyongyang to change its attitude on the abduction issue could indirectly advance six-party talks on the North Korea nuclear issue. Koizumi has made Taku Yamasaki his adviser. We imagine this was because Yamasaki has contacts in Washington and was also Koizumi's emissary to North Korea to pave the way for the Kim-Koizumi summit this year.

Koizumi says he wants to normalize ties with North Korea during his final time in office. For that to happen, he must first get Pyongyang to cooperate on the abduction issue.

(Sept. 30)