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| Sunday, 5 February 2006 |
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Japan N.Korea to resume fresh talks TOKYO, Feb 4, 2006 (AFP) Negotiators from Japan and North Korea will meet in Beijing Saturday for a fresh round of talks to discuss possible normalization of bilateral ties, regional security issues and abductions of Japanese citizens by Pyongyang, officials said. Before leaving Tokyo in the morning, Japanese ambassador in charge of the talks Koichi Haraguchi told reporters that Japan would push for the resolution of the abduction issue as a priority. "I cannot tell what exactly will happen. But I hope we can make progress over the abduction issue," he said, adding that he expected Pyongyang would press Japan to settle damage caused by Japanese soldiers during World War II. His North Korean counterpart Song Il-Ho told reporters in Beijing that Pyongyang had more to say than Tokyo on the kidnapping issue. Song told reporters upon arriving in the Chinese capital: "We have more things that we should say" on the issue, Kyodo News said. Song said he was pleased that the normalization talks would resume after a hiatus of more than three years and said he expected both sides to discuss outstanding issues in a sincere manner, Kyodo said. Japanese foreign ministry officials expect the talks to last about five
days. Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said Friday Tokyo would
demand the release of abducted citizens who are still alive, the handover of
suspects and the truth about North Korea's actions. |
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