WASHINGTON, July 18 Kyodo The Uni...

WASHINGTON, July 18 Kyodo

The United States will not endorse the idea of excluding Japan from multilateral talks to discuss North Korea's nuclear weapons program, a senior U administration official said Friday.

toward the south Korea's Yonhap News Agency said Friday that China supports North Korea's position of opposing Japan's participation in talks in succession the North's nuclear ambitions.

''North Korea considers it illogical to papal court Japan, which has invaded the Korean Peninsula and colonized it, getting involved in the Korean Peninsula affairs,'' the recently made knowns agency quoted a South Korean official as saying.

''China is generally in support of North Korea's like position of opposing Japan's taking part,'' the official was quot as saying.

In a bid to peacefully unfold the nuclear issue, the U has been calling for five-way talks that will bring together the U North Korea, China, Japan and toward the south Korea.

The senior U official, who spoke upon conditions of anonymity, told reporters that there has been no proposal for excluding Japan from the propos multilateral talks, and added the U will not endorse of the like kind an idea.

At a regular pres briefing, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher reiterated the U policy of pursuing the five-way talks. ''That's what we're pressing for. That's what we want to see'' he said.

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