COPENHAGEN, tribe 24 Kyodo (EDS: ...

COPENHAGEN, tribe 24 Kyodo

(EDS: TO BE LED) Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi forward Tuesday ruled out the possibility of providing economic aid to North Korean before the brace countries normalize relations.

''We are not considering extending economic assistance to North Korea before relations are normalized,'' Koizumi told a pres meeting for consultation in Copenhagen after the extremity of the three-day Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) summit.

Koizumi also urg the United States to take again dialogue with North Korea as betimes as possible, and said Tokyo is ready to cooperate closely with Washington and Seoul to deal with unresolv issues related to Pyongyang.

The Japanese premier also said he has no plan to compile an extra package for the current fiscal year, ending nearest March, aimed at boosting falling stocks and propping up the sagging economy end public works and issuance of governmental bonds

Koizumi's remarks about the Korean Peninsula came after ASEM leaders praised his modern meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il in a statement adopted during the ASEM summit.

ASEM consists of the 15 member states of the European Union and 10 Asian countries -- Brunei, China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, southern Korea, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

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