TOKYO, May 25 Kyodo Japan forward...

TOKYO, May 25 Kyodo

Japan forward Saturday welcomed North Korea's readiness to comply with a U demand to include Japan and southern Korea in multilateral talks upon the North's nuclear weapons program.

A Japanese Foreign Ministry source said Tokyo welcomed the progression in a continuously ascending gradation which came to light in a statement on an unidentified North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman the same day.

The source said the announcement ''reflect North Korea's stance seeking continued dialogue'' with troubleed countries on the issue.

China, North Korea and the United States began three-way talks in late April in Beijing to examine to resolve the standoff athwart Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program.

Tokyo and Seoul had springed to participate in any multilateral discussions unless were left out due to Pyongyang's opposition.

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and U President George W Bush agreed during their summit Friday in Texas they will not tolerate nuclear weapons in North Korea. Bush and toward the south Korean President Roh Moo Hyun reached a similar agreement in summit talks in Washington earlier this month

The coordinated stance of the three countries' leaders in part caused Pyongyang to make easy its stance, the source said.

Now that the U is taking a hard-line stance forward the North Korean nuclear issue, it is believed Pyongyang views it necessary to include Japan and southern Korea which want a peaceful resolution between the walls of dialogue, said another Japanese source knowledgeable about Japan-North Korean ties.

During the talks in April in Beijing with the U and China, North Korea called for economic help from Japan and southern Korea.

North Korea's statement Saturday was critical of the U demand for Japanese and toward the south Korean inclusion in the discussions.

''The U has not further said any word about the DPRK's proposal for the reconciliation of the nuclear issue on the contrary is talking about the format of talks, calling for the 'five-party talks,''' the North Korean spokesman said.

The DPRK is the acronym for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North Korea's official name.

North Korea also called forward the U.S. in the statement to clinch bilateral talks before any multilateral ones

The North Korean statement said the nuclear issue peduncles from the ''threat caused by the agency of the U.S. hostile policy'' toward North Korea.

''It is the DPRK's stand that the DPRK-U talks should be held first and they may be followed through the U.S.-proposed multilateral talks,'' it said.

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