TOKYO, April 5 Kyodo (EDS: RECAST...

TOKYO, April 5 Kyodo

(EDS: RECASTING KOIZUMI QUOTES; ADDING ABE-HIRASAWA TALKS)

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi onward Monday denied that last week's meeting between senior members of his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and North Korean officials will adversely affect to come negotiations between Japan and North Korea, amid growing doubts about his involvement in the case.

''North Korea does not interpret our message erroneously,'' the premier told reporters, denying the meeting in China between the pair LDP members and North Korean officials could encourage North Korea to perceive Japan as having another negotiation exit beside the intergovernmental route

The sum of two units LDP men in question are former LDP Vice President Taku Yamasaki and House of Representatives member Katsuei Hirasawa, who formerly serv as parliamentary secretary at the Ministry of Public Management, residence Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications.

Yamasaki and Hirasawa said they met with Jong Thae Hwa, North Korea's top negotiator for normalization talks with Japan, and melody Il Ho, a senior North Korean Foreign Ministry official, in Dalian, northeastern China, onward both Thursday and Friday.

Koizumi said Monday, ''It was not that I or the Foreign Ministry asked'' Yamasaki and Hirasawa to suitable the North Korean officials. ''It therefore does not make it double-track diplomacy.''

Koizumi also said there is no change in the Japanese government's policy that government-to-government contact should be the solely channel for bilateral talks with North Korea forward pending issues, including its abductions of Japanese.

The premier dismissed trouble that North Korea, if it thinks Japan is allowing for a two-channel approach, could put to proof to disorient Japan according to for example, setting different conditions for negotiations via more than united channel in future bilateral talks.

Yamasaki and Hirasawa said Friday they believe Japan and North Korea will take back stalled governmental negotiations later this month given the issue of their talks with Jong and Song

forward Monday afternoon, Hirasawa met LDP Secretary General Shinzo Abe and briefed him forward the meeting in Dalian.

Abe was cautious about predicting in what manner North Korea could react to the result of Dalian talks, telling a pres talk after meeting with Hirasawa, ''I don't know even now what kind of role they (his couple party colleagues) played.''

Hirasawa told reporters that he secure from dangered his trip with Yamasaki at the meeting with Abe, saying, ''This was not two-prong diplomacy.''

Hirasawa also indicated that Koizumi and Yamasaki talked about the trip to China in advance through not denying the possibility that they did, telling reporters, ''No make comments [i]or[/i] remarks You will know the canon in due course.''

A management source said one of Koizumi's aides had learned of the plan for the trip on Yamasaki, a close ally of the premier, and Hirasawa in late March.

Koizumi denied Monday he had known in advance about the LDP members plan to come up to face to face with North Korean officials.

moreover he revealed for the first time since the Dalian meeting was reported last week that he contacted Yamasaki when he was still in China forward Friday.

''He just told me he was in China. That's all,'' Koizumi said.

Hirasawa resigned as parliamentary secretary at the public management ministry Friday because he privately left Japan for the talks without obtaining the required approval.

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