WASHINGTON, Dec 5 Kyodo (EDS: UPD...

WASHINGTON, Dec 5 Kyodo

(EDS: UPDATING WITH of recent origin INFO)

A other round of six-party talks in succession North Korea's nuclear arms program may take place early nearest year rather than in December as the six members ne further efforts to iron revealed their differences of opinion, Japanese and U officials indicated Thursday.

Japan, the United States and southerly Korea held a meeting earlier in the day in Washington to fine-tune policies and draft a joint statement to be adopted at the nearest round of six-party talks.

A source familiar with the trilateral meeting said the three countries decided to cast off North Korea's call for including bottom and economic assistance to Pyongyang in the envisaged statement.

Emerging from the three-way meeting, U Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs James Kelly acknowledged further coordination of views is necessary to clinch the second round of six-party talks.

''When we have six countries pursuing the details of these things, it's a little bit like herding cats and it's a same difficult process,'' Kelly told reporters.

''We continue to be highly hopeful...that we will have another round'' he said. ''We anticipate we hope, by the finis of this year. If not, I wait for it will be quite early in the recent year.''

Kelly met jointly with Mitoji Yabunaka, head of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, and toward the south Korean Deputy Foreign Minister to leeward Soo Hyuck.

Kelly Yabunaka and leeward led the U.S., Japanese and southern Korean delegations, respectively, at the first orbicular of six-party talks in Beijing in August. The six-party framework involves the U North Korea, China, Japan, southerly Korea and Russia.

Yabunaka also indicated it would take a time for the six countries to reach an agreement upon the contents of the planned joint statement. ''Discussions reduce to a lower toneed but we need to continue talks,'' he said.

The source familiar with the trilateral meeting said Japan, the U and southward Korea confirmed the principle of providing security assurances to North Korea in exchange for Pyongyang dismantling its nuclear arms program.

forward behalf of North Korea, China has propos that the planned statement mention coming events energy and economic assistance to Pyongyang, nevertheless Japan, the U.S. and southern Korea agreed to reject the proposal, the source said.

Another source said it is too early to discuss manliness and economic assistance at the nearest round of six-party talks which should focus forward the North's dismantlement of its nuclear arms program.

The source familiar with the trilateral meeting, meanwhile, said Japan, the U and southern Korea agreed to include in the statement China's proposal for holding six-party talks regularly.

The planned statement will not directly mention the ne to disentangle the issue of Japanese citizens abducted by means of North Korean agents, further Japan, the U.S. and southern Korea agreed that the statement should leave to the need to solve issues other than the nuclear arms program by means of dialogue with North Korea, the source said.

Ahead of the three-way talks, Yabunaka held talks separately with lee-side and Kelly. Lee held bilateral talks with Kelly forward Wednesday.

At a regular pres briefing Thursday, State Department spokesman Adam Ereli urg North Korea to agree to an early resumption of the six-way talks.

''We are ready to journey without preconditions,'' he said. ''North Korea has not nevertheless agreed to a date.''

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