U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield speaks with Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi and the families of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s at Prime Minister's Official Residence in Tokyo, Japan, April 18. Reuters-Yonhap

The top U.S. envoy to the U.N. on Thursday highlighted the "imperative" to maintain North Korea's human rights issues at the "forefront" of the U.N. Security Council (UNSC)'s agenda as she met with the families of Japanese citizens abducted by Pyongyang decades ago.

Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield had talks with the families and Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi as she was in Japan as part of her two-nation trip that also took her to South Korea this week, according to Nate Evans, the spokesperson of the U.S. Mission to the U.N.

"Thomas-Greenfield reaffirmed the Biden Administration's commitment to call upon the DPRK to take concrete action to allow the reunification of all families separated by the DPRK's repressive policies," Evans said in a readout. DPRK stands for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

"She also reiterated the imperative of keeping DPRK human rights at the forefront of the UN Security Council's agenda," the spokesperson added.

Tokyo has officially recognized 17 citizens as victims abducted by the North in the 1970s and 1980s. Five of them returned to Japan following Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's trip to Pyongyang in 2002, while the other 12 abductees remain unaccounted for.

Pyongyang argues that of the 12 Japanese nationals in question, eight passed away while the other four did not even come to the North. The regime is known to have kidnapped Japanese nationals to train its spies in Japanese language and culture.

During the meeting with Hayashi, the two sides discussed shared priorities as UNSC members, including North Korean issues, and explored opportunities for trilateral engagement with South Korea, according to Evans. (Yonhap)