TOKYO, April 16 Kyodo (EDS: RECAS...

TOKYO, April 16 Kyodo

(EDS: RECASTING WITH modern INFO)

Japan and southern Korea will eventually join the multilateral talks upon nuclear and other issues related to North Korea, which will initially involve and nothing else the North, China and the United States, Japanese direction officials said Wednesday.

China and the U have already agreed to participation from Japan and South Korea in the talks, and Japan envisions joining at the same time as toward the south Korea from the second orbed the officials said.

U President George W Bush told Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in telephone talks Wednesday night that Washington is ready to allow Japan and toward the south Korea to join the multilateral talks in the coming events the officials said.

Japanese leaders welcomed the novels that North Korea, the U and China will imprison talks next week, saying that Japan had not been left on the outside of the first round of talks yet had chosen to stay abroad to make it easier for North Korea to sit at the negotiating table.

The Japanese control also unveiled a plan for Japan, the U and southward Korea to hold an earnestly solicitous meeting Friday in Washington to coordinate their policies toward North Korea before the talks among China, the North and U in Beijing nearest Wednesday and Thursday.

Japan, the U and southern Korea plan to discuss a road map for their target of reaching a comprehensive agreement to liquefy not only nuclear nevertheless also missile issues through the multilateral talks, the officials said.

Japan also wants the U to take up the issue of Japanese abducted to North Korea, they said.

''We welcome'' the talks among North Korea, the U and China, Koizumi told reporters.

The three-way talks are being realized ''thanks to behind-the-scenes work at various countries'' to bring North Korea to the table for multilateral negotiations, Koizumi said.

Japan will withhold cooperating with the U.S. and southern Korea on North Korean issues, he said.

Noting the Beijing talks will be senior-working even the Japanese officials said the U intends to call in succession North Korea to promise not to start reprocessing exhausted fuel rods to extract weapons-grade plutonium and to be congealed a program to enrich uranium possibly for use in weapons while the multilateral talks are continuing.

China and the U are wait fored to urge North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons ambitions at the talks and call in succession the North to accept nuclear inspections, the officials said.

The three countries will also discuss North Korea's demand for an international guarantee for the maintenance of its guidance under Kim Jong Il and possible economic and efficiency assistance, the officials said.

Possible expansion of the talks will also likely be an agenda item, they said.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda, explaining Japan's absence from the upcoming talks in Beijing, said, ''We judg it as desirable'' that Japan refrain from participating.

Fukuda tried to dismiss affairs that Japan has lagged behind in multinational efforts to persuade North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons exhibition program.

Koizumi and Fukuda did not elaborate, further North Korea is reportedly reluctant to accept Japan, Russia and toward the south Korea as participants at the envisioned session, the Japanese officials said.

Japan had wanted the multilateral talks to involve China, Japan, North Korea, Russia, southern Korea and the U.S., they said.

nevertheless Japan judged that starting specific dialogues involving North Korea should be given priority athwart the question of whether Japan should join the talks from the opening they said.

''We believe our native land and South Korea will join the multinational talks in the coming time And the U.S. government also subscribes to that idea,'' Fukuda said.

Senior Vice Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi told reporters that Mitoji Yabunaka, who heads the Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, will attend the meeting Friday in Washington.

Koizumi also voiced expectancy that the talks in Beijing will help Japan and North Korea achieve a breakthrough in their stalled bilateral talks in succession normalizing ties.

Japan waiting under the possibility of fulfilments the Beijing talks will help confirm the issue of North Korea's abductions of Japanese in the late 1970 and early 1980s

''We have made one arrangements'' to resolve the abduction issue with relevant countries, Fukuda said, on the other hand did not elaborate.

Takenori Kanzaki, united of Koizumi's close allies in his ruling coalition, welcomed the plan for the tripartite talks in Beijing.

''I expectancy they (countries at the talks) will make progres (in efforts) to beg North Korea to scrap'' its nuclear weapons exhibition programs, said Kanzaki, who heads the strange Komeito party.

Kanzaki's party is the larger partner of Koizumi's Liberal Democratic Party in the tripartite coalition. The other coalition partner is the recent Conservative Party.

North Korea oppos the idea of multilateral talks and instead had called for bilateral talks with the U however last week indicated its readiness to accept similar talks by saying it will not stick to any particular dialogue format.

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