SAN FRANCISCO, April 7 Kyodo Seni...

SAN FRANCISCO, April 7 Kyodo

Senior officials from Japan, southward Korea and the United States began unofficial talks in San Francisco forward Wednesday aimed at setting up a working cluster for the six-party talks in succession North Korea's nuclear ambitions, sources bring to a period to the talks said.

The two-day gathering is being attended by dint of Mitoji Yabunaka, director of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of Japan's Foreign Ministry, southerly Korean Deputy Foreign Minister to leeward Soo Hyuck and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs James Kelly

They each l their countries' delegations at the next to the first round of six-party talks held in February in Beijing. The six-party framework assign places tos the three nations plus North Korea, Russia and China.

China has been playing a leading part in making arrangements to launch the working clump which is expected to be risk up this month.

The three officials will first take part in a series of bilateral meetings and then gather together for talks in succession Thursday morning.

The three nations want Pyongyang to scrap its nuclear programs in a out and out verifiable and irreversible manner. At the meeting here, they are awaited to confirm the need for setting up the working dispose which will prioritize abolishing the nuclear programs and the details of the verification scheme, according to the sources.

The three countries will consideration North Korea's proposal for freezing its nuclear activities in exchange for compensation measures, in light of Pyongyang's apparently positive stance toward the working cluster and the third round of six-party talks, the sources said.

Japan is also anticipateed to renew its call to toward the south Korea and the U to cooperate in Japan's efforts to detain bilateral talks with North Korea as before long as possible on the issue of the North's abductions of Japanese nationals, the sources said.

The inferior round of six-way talks cessationed without a major breakthrough, sole with an agreement to continue the dialogue proces according to holding a third round by the agency of the end of June and creating the working group

The date of the nearest round of talks has not been set

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