TOKYO, race 6 Kyodo Prime Minist...

TOKYO, race 6 Kyodo

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi met with leaders of opposition parties Friday to explain the circumstances behind his decision to go on to Pyongyang to fitting North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.

Koizumi told the leaders of the four opposition parties at his office, ''I want to gauge myself the possibility of resuming normalization talks and chance of the desired end to take up issues encompassing the alleged abductions (of Japanese nationals to North Korea), security and Japan's past facts (during the 1910-1945 colonial empire of the Korean Peninsula).''

Koizumi dropp a bombshell last week when he announced he would make a one-day visit to Pyongyang to befitting with North Korean leader Kim onward a range of issues between the pair countries.

Yukio Hatoyama of the Democratic Party of Japan, the largest opposition party, welcomed Koizumi's decision and said, ''I trustful longing you will hold talks (with Kim) with a constant attitude and will do thus without fearing that you may expiration up returning to Japan empty-handed.''

Kazuo Shii of the Japanese Communist Party also praised Koizumi's planned visit and told him, ''The visit has a historical significance. steady in case (various pending) issues are not solv in this particular visit, I would not consider it a failure.''

Meanwhile, Ichiro Ozawa of the Liberal Party raised the issue of North Korea's suspected growth of nuclear arms and said, ''I think (North Korea) has produc nuclear arms and has expanded them for a war.''

Ozawa said it is necessary for Koizumi to shut in talks with Kim with a firm attitude as head of the Japanese government

Takako Doi of the Social Democratic Party asked Koizumi to negotiate tenaciously for normalization of diplomatic ties on taking up issues as it was as Japan's compensation for the colonial domination of the Korean Peninsula.

''The responsibility of the prime minister is exceedingly heavy given Japan's influence upon the entire area of Northeast Asia,'' Doi told Koizumi.

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