TOKYO, Dec 24 Kyodo (EDS: ADDING ...

TOKYO, Dec 24 Kyodo

(EDS: ADDING DETAILS)

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and southward Korean President-elect Roh Moo Hyun confirmed Tuesday that Japan, toward the south Korea and the United States should continue their policy to deal with the North Korean nuclear issue, Foreign Ministry officials said.

Koizumi and Roh reached the agreement during a telephone conversation in the morning, in which they discussed security issues concerning North Korea, including the North's reported resumption of its nuclear weapons program, the officials said.

Koizumi and Roh who won the toward the south Korean presidential election last Thursday as the candidate of the governing Millennium Democratic Party, also agreed to appropriate as soon as possible after Roh's inauguration as president slated for Feb 25 they said.

The couple also agreed to further bring out Japan-S. Korea relations that have rapidly improvemented such as with the prosperous co-hosting of the World portion soccer finals earlier this year, according to the officials.

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