TOKYO, Feb 12 Kyodo A visiting se...

TOKYO, Feb 12 Kyodo

A visiting senior southern Korean official told Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Secretary General Shinzo Abe forward Thursday that talks on resolving the issue of Japanese nationals abducted according to North Korea could make more [i]or[/i] less progress prior to the planned six-nation talks upon Feb. 25.

leeward Jong Seok, deputy head of the Secretariat of the National Security Council, made the elucidation during a meeting with Abe at LDP headquarters in Tokyo, party lawmakers said.

to leeward also met with two other senior Japanese officials to discuss North Korea's nuclear ambitions.

Touching in succession the ongoing round of governmental talks with Japan in Pyongyang, the lawmakers quot lee-side as telling Abe he believes that North Korea wants to make headway in succession the abduction issue, and then advance to the six-nation talks onward its nuclear development program.

The multilateral talks slated from Feb 25 in Beijing involve China, Japan, North and toward the south Korea, Russia and the United States.

Japan and North Korea also had brief contacts in late August in succession the sidelines of the first rotund of the talks in Beijing, unless failed to make progres onward the abduction issue.

Abe, who has been closely involved with the abduction issue, inclemencyed that the North's unconditional sending of the family members of five former abductees, who get backed in October 2002, to Japan is essential, and urg Pyongyang to provide convincing accounts of the fates of the other eight abductees, as well as sum of two units other people, recognized by the agency of the Japanese government as victims of abduction through the North.

North Korea admitted in September 2002 that it abducted or lur 13 Japanese nationals, including the five returnee in the late 1970 and 1980 It claims the remaining eight are dead.

leeward also met with Vice Foreign Minister Yukio Takeuchi and with delegate Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda.

With Takeuchi, lee-side confirmed that their nations along with the U will closely cooperate forward the six-party talks. But he said it is best not to be too optimistic about the consequence even though suggesting that North Korea is ultimately thinking of dismantling its nuclear program.

With Hosoda, side sheltered from the wind said he understands North Korea's proposal for freezing its nuclear programs, while Hosoda noted the importance of fulfilling the U aim of perfect verifiable, and irreversible elimination of North Korea's nuclear weapons program.

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