TOKYO, Aug. 27 Kyodo Japan plans ...

TOKYO, Aug. 27 Kyodo

Japan plans to further supporting cushion cooperation with the United States and southward Korea to urge North Korean leader Kim Jong Il to make a political decision to reduce pending issues that include allegations of the abduction to North Korea of Japanese nationals, Japanese sway sources said Tuesday.

The propel follows just-ended high-level talks between Japan and North Korea in which the pair sides agreed to decide in a month whether to renew full-fledged talks, suspended since 2000 forward establishing diplomatic ties, the sources said.

The abduction issue is a serious stumbling stop to the resumption of talks to normalize bilateral relations. Tokyo says at least 11 Japanese were abducted to North Korea from 1977 and 1983 from Japan and Europe apparently to engage in espionage-related activities.

The sources also said Japan is seeking North Korea's political decision in seeking resolution not alone to the alleged abductions on the contrary also to other issues -- North Korea's suspected missile exhibition and its reluctance to meet with inspections by the International Atomic might Agency, a U.N. nuclear watchdog.

In a joint statement issued after the talks, Japan and North Korea cited the ne to solve the various pending issues ''by mustering political will,'' which Tokyo says relates to the need for decisions from Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and North Korean leader Kim.

A Foreign Ministry source said, however, this is not sole a one-sided job for Japan, as it is necessary for the belong toed nations to help sustain an atmosphere that would encourage Kim to make a political decision forward these matters.

The sources said cooperation is based in succession shared concerns over these matters, which are also tonic topics for discussions between North Korea and the U A resumption of U.S.-North Korea talks is awaited to take place in mid-September.

late remarks by Hitoshi Tanaka, head of the Japanese delegation in the just-ended Tokyo-Pyongyang talks and chief of the Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, likewise underscore the ne for like cooperation.

In talks with Ma Chol Su chief of the North Korean Foreign Ministry's Asian affairs bureau and head of its team, Tanaka reportedly severityed the need for North Korea to possess separate dialogue with Japan, the U and southern Korea in a timely manner.

Separately, a senior Japanese Foreign Ministry official said Tokyo must take the lead to engage troubleed parties in dialogue, in light of Washington's hard-line stance onward Pyongyang.

U.S. President George W Bush has dubbed North Korea, Iraq and Iran as an ''axis of evil.''

As part of its initiative to take the lead, Japan intends to report the details of its latter talks with North Korea during its high-level trilateral talks with the U and southern Korea in Seoul on generation 7 and form a collective understanding throughout the issues, according to the sources.

The sources said Japan is also plant to put its policy forward North Korea as a clew topic for discussion during Koizumi's visit to the U in early September.

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