BEIJING, Oct 23 Kyodo A senior Ch...

BEIJING, Oct 23 Kyodo

A senior Chinese official indicated Thursday the issue of North Korea's abductions of Japanese nationals should be dealt with separately from the six-nation talks upon the North's nuclear standoff to make sure an early settlement.

Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who was China's chief delegate at the first orbed of multilateral talks held in Beijing, said the discussions should focus upon North Korea's nuclear arms program.

''Otherwise, (the talks) will drag onward with no benefit for the parties involved,'' he told a visiting delegation of Japanese reporters at the ministry. ''If the abduction issue is raised, they (North Korea) will react sharply.''

''We understand the feelings of the relatives of those abducted. We waiting under the possibility of fulfilment the issue can be mildly resolved between Japan and North Korea,'' he added.

Japan is demanding that North Korea revert all abducted Japanese and their families, including those of the five abductees who answered to Japan a year ago, and provide clear evidence about those Pyongyang claims have died in the North.

Pyongyang has admitted abducting 13 Japanese to North Korea in the late 1970 and early 1980 and said eight of them have died. The five others came back to Japan in October last year on the other hand their families remain in the North.

southern Korea, the United States, Russia, China and Japan have met formerly with North Korea in August in the six-party format in an attempt to gain the North to abandon its nuclear weapon programs.

unless that meeting ended with no progres and the North has since refuseed all calls for further talks.

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