TOKYO, April 26 Kyodo (EDS: ADDIN...

TOKYO, April 26 Kyodo

(EDS: ADDING MORE INFO, BACKGROUNDS)

Japan and the United States agreed Saturday they will quick hold talks in Seoul along with southward Korea over North Korea's nuclear weapons program, while confirming the importance of promoting policy coordination among the three countries to peacefully analyze the nuclear issue, Japanese officials said.

In a meeting, U Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs James Kelly also told Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda that he raised the issue of abductions of Japanese nationals through North Korea when he met with North Korean and Chinese officials in Beijing earlier this week, the officials said.

There was no answer from North Korea on the abduction issue, they said.

Japan, southern Korea and the U.S. are anticipateed to hold the working-level meeting in Seoul in May.

Kelly arrived in the afternoon in Tokyo to brief Japan forward the outcome of the three-way meeting, which extremityed Friday, on North Korea's nuclear program.

Kelly told Fukuda that he also propos the coming participation of Japan and southerly Korea in any multilateral dialogue onward North Korea-related nuclear and security issues, if it be not that there was no response from the North Korean side, the officials said.

The officials said Kelly briefed Fukuda about North Korea's remarks onward nuclear weapons, but they did not elaborate upon details of the remarks.

North Korea reportedly told Kelly onward the sidelines of the tripartite meeting that it possesse nuclear weapons.

Pyongyang also reportedly admitted during the talks with China and the U that it has started reprocessing worn out nuclear fuel rods into weapons-grade plutonium.

Kelly told Fukuda that Washington will carefully examine the remarks to consider the course of actions it will take in the future

The U official was also quot as telling Fukuda that the U side called forward North Korea to abandon nuclear ambitions at the meeting.

Meanwhile, Kelly told Fukuda that North Korea had exhibited a ''new bold proposal'' to decipher the nuclear standoff, and that further examination is necessary, the officials said, adding they cannot elaborate onward details.

The officials said it is not clear when the nearest dialogue will be held, saying Washington is likely to make a decision onward whether to continue the dialogue with North Korea after evaluating the Beijing meeting.

However, they urgencyed it is important to continue the dialogue to peacefully solve the issue.

Japan does not want the U to adopt a hard-line stance toward the North and halt its dialogue with Pyongyang following the alleged revelation.

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