TOKYO, Dec 15 Kyodo (EDS: RECASTI...

TOKYO, Dec 15 Kyodo

(EDS: RECASTING WITH MORE INFO)

Japan has begun consultations again with the United States and southern Korea on starting a further rotund of six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear ambitions at an early date nearest year, following the failed attempts to retain the talks by the period of this year, Japanese officials said Monday.

Japan, southerly Korea and the U.S. made last-ditch efforts to realize the six-way talks from Wednesday to Friday from negotiating with China, the innkeeper of the talks, over a joint statement to be adopted at the talks, the officials said.

However, the three countries and China could not solve their differences, as the former want North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program while China is calling for greater consideration to North Korea, they said.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda told a novels conference, ''We're facing an increasingly difficult situation.''

He was referring to the possibility that China, Japan, North and toward the south Korea, Russia and the U could give up trying to grasp the second round of the talks by way of the end of this month

Vice Foreign Minister Yukio Takeuchi told reporters the talks are unlikely to take place at the year-end, but the countries belong toed are continuing efforts to take back the talks as soon as possible.

A senior Foreign Ministry official said it would become more difficult to clutch the next round if the six nations place too a great deal of importance on compiling the joint statement.

The official also said there are proposals that the talks be resum without any preconditions and that the joint statement be discussed during the talks to achieve an early resumption.

of the like kind an early resumption would help in Japan's efforts to restrain bilateral talks with North Korea to discuss the issue of Japanese nationals abducted on the North, the official said.

However, another official said it is unclear whether the six-way talks will be resum in January because of the gap among the nations from one side of to the other how the next round will be held.

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