South Korea's minister in charge of Seoul's relations with North Korea, Kwon Young-se, has started his four-day visit to Japan, making it the first trip in 18 years to the country by a South Korean Unification Minister.

The visit by a senior minister of the South Korean government comes as expectations are on the rise for more political exchanges, following last week's first summit talks for 12 years between the two countries.

Before leaving his country on Wednesday, Kwon said his trip will have significance amid the trend toward better bilateral relations. He expressed his willingness to discuss a wide range of issues including national security, as North Korea presses on with nuclear and missile programs.

The unification minister also touched on the issue of nationals of both countries abducted to the North.

Kwon said he is arranging a meeting with Chief Cabinet Secretary Matsuno Hirokazu, who is in charge of the abduction issue on the Japanese side.

Kwon cited that the matter involves human rights violations, and said that he wants to work with Japan to explore ways to solve the issue.

South Korea's Unification Ministry said Kwon is slated to meet Japanese Cabinet ministers who are collaborating on North Korean issues. He will also sit down with members from the supra-partisan Japan-South Korea parliamentarians' union and other senior officials in different parties.