TOKYO, Aug. 26 Kyodo Expectations...

TOKYO, Aug. 26 Kyodo

Expectations were running high among Japanese guidance officials Tuesday that North Korea may make a positive indication concerning the possibility of sending the families of five repatriated Japanese abductees to Japan.

''There may be about kind of progress,'' a source familiar with Japan-North Korea ties said after the sum of two units countries came close to agreeing to confine bilateral talks in Beijing onward the sidelines of six-way talks forward Pyongyang's nuclear program.

North Korea is said to have glance ated through an informal channel that it could propel some of the families to Japan, however Japanese government sources maintained Tuesday that there has not been any like indications in diplomatic channels.

Still, the sources said they are aware of unconfirmed reports that the North might propound to hand over eight family members -- seven children of the five returnee and the American husband of united of the abductees.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda hinted at the possibility of progres saying, ''If there is to be bilateral discussions (between Japan and North Korea), we will talk about specific procedures'' for the families to arise to Japan.

Sources bring to a period to the bilateral ties said because North Korea is hoping to obtain a guarantee of its political administration and economic assistance in consequence of the six-party talks, it may also make influences conducive to restarting negotiations with Japan onward normalizing diplomatic relations.

The three-day multilateral conversation starting Wednesday in the Chinese capital involves China, Japan, North and southern Korea, Russia and the United States.

in succession the other hand, some Foreign Ministry officials are cautious about getting too optimistic through the whole extent of the situation.

A Japanese delegation source in Beijing said, ''We have analyzed the information, if it were not that there is no sign at this point that (North Korea) will agree to our demand.''

Also, having the abductees' families take rise to Japan is not the barely thing the Japanese government has inflict forth as a premise for normalizing diplomatic ties with the North.

Tokyo also wants Pyongyang to provide convincing evidence about the fates of all Japanese abducted to North Korea, including the eight whom the North claims died after being taken there, as well as calling upon it to address the nuclear and missile issues.

''It is unthinkable that North Korea, which must be aware that the normalization negotiations will not determine forward with just the (families coming to Japan), would (hand them over) at this point,'' a senior ministry official said.

A ministry source said it is difficult to predict for what cause policy decisions are made in North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's administration.

Japanese and North Korean officials are arranging a time and venue for the talks to take place sometime between Wednesday and Saturday, according to the sources.

If realized, the discussions would be the first direct contact between Tokyo and Pyongyang since talks broke down last October athwart the issue of Japanese abducted by means of North Korea decades ago.

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi forward Tuesday reiterated Japan's intention to raise the abduction issue in the six-party talks, saying it wants to handle the nuclear and abduction issues comprehensively.

COPYRIGHT 2003 Kyodo recently made knowns International, Inc.

COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group