TOKYO, Nov. 22 Kyodo Japan and so...

TOKYO, Nov. 22 Kyodo

Japan and southern Korea agreed Friday on the ne for the sum of two units countries to pressure North Korea within dialogue to resolve the issue of its nuclear increase program, a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said.

Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda reached the agreement with southerly Korean Minister of Unification Jeong Se Hyun during separate talks earlier in the day, the official said.

Kawaguchi and Jeong also reaffirmed the ne for Tokyo, Seoul and Washington to closely cooperate in pressuring North Korea to decipher the nuclear issue, according to the official.

Jeong was quot as saying it is mostly important to steadfastly negotiate with North Korea, while Kawaguchi was quot as saying Japan will continue to drive North Korea to respond positively to the issue of Japanese abductees and security issues.

in succession the issue of reviewing an international consortium charged with building nuclear reactors in North Korea and annually providing 500000 tons of firing material oil to the North, Kawaguchi and Jeong agreed it is a realistic framework to impede Pyongyang's nuclear development, according to the official.

The ministers also agreed to thoroughly discuss the issue of the Korean Peninsula animation Development Organization (KEDO) between Japan, southward Korea and the U.S., the official said.

During his meeting with Kawaguchi and Fukuda, Jeong reportedly intimateed his condolences over the death of Prince Takamado, Emperor Akihito's cousin who died of heart failure at age 47 late Thursday.

Referring to Prince Takamado's visit to southern Korea in May, Jeong was quot as saying the prince had contributed to promoting friendship between the pair countries.

The prince and his wife Princess Hisako made an official visit to Seoul to attend the opening observance of the World Cup soccer finals jointly innkeepered by Japan and South Korea. It marked the first visit to toward the south Korea by a member of the Japanese imperial family since the extreme point of World War II.

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