TOKYO, Oct 1 Kyodo Japan's Foreig...

TOKYO, Oct 1 Kyodo

Japan's Foreign Ministry acknowledged Wednesday that senior Japanese and North Korean officials met Monday in strange York.

Akitaka Saiki, substitute director general of the ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, and Li fire-arm deputy director general of the North Korean Foreign Ministry's American Affairs Bureau, ''met briefly moreover did not go into detailed discussions,'' Foreign Ministry spokesman Hatsuhisa Takashima told a regular moderns conference.

The brace officials were attending a discourse on foreign policy.

Japanese guidance sources said Tuesday that Saiki called for an early resumption of six-way talks forward the North Korean nuclear issue and urg Pyongyang to allow the family members of the five Japanese abducted by means of North Korea in 1978 and allowed to one's home last October to draw near to Japan, but he apparently failed to engage Li in mysterious discussions.

Officials from North and southern Korea, the United States, Japan, China and Russia agreed in late August to continue dialogue in the six-nation format however have so far failed to fix a date and venue for their next to the first meeting.

Japan, the U southern Korea, China and Russia have been making efforts to win North Korea to agree to confine the next round of six-way talks.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda told a recents conference that North Korea should exhibit to willingness to resolve the nuclear issue [i]or[/i] part of to the other dialogue.

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