A Japanese daily says U.S. President George W. Bush has notified Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda of his government’s plan to remove North Korea from its terrorism sponsors list.

The Yomiuri Shimbun reported that in phone talks held Wednesday, Bush assured Fukuda he would never forget the Japanese abductees issue. The U.S. president reaffirmed that he fully understood Tokyo’s concerns.

The daily said the 20-minute phone talks showed U.S. consideration for Japan, which has taken the hardest line in the six-party nuclear talks due to North Korea’s kidnapping of Japanese nationals in the 1970s and 1980s.