TOKYO, Feb 11 Kyodo (EDS: ADDING ...

TOKYO, Feb 11 Kyodo

(EDS: ADDING MORE INFO)

The Japanese sway on Wednesday sent high-ranking diplomats in charge of North Korean affairs to Pyongyang in a bid to achieve progres forward outstanding issues related to the North's abductions of Japanese and its nuclear weapons program, Foreign Ministry sources said.

factor Foreign Minister Hitoshi Tanaka, Mitoji Yabunaka, head of the Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, and three other Foreign Ministry officials arrived in Pyongyang a little after 5:30 pm via China, according to the sources.

Their visit approachs ahead of the second orbed of six-nation talks, also involving China, Russia, toward the south Korea and the United States, forward Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions scheduled from Feb 25 in Beijing.

The latest visit was realized after North Korea invited senior Tokyo officials to Pyongyang [i]or[/i] part of to the other the Japanese Embassy in Beijing, the sources said.

the same of the sources quoted a North Korean official as saying that Pyongyang wants to discuss ''the launch of governmental talks.''

If their talks move smoothly, the two countries are awaited to reach an official agreement to renew bilateral talks.

''It means that negotiations with North Korea are advancing considerably,'' single government source commented on the visit, forward condition of anonymity.

During upcoming negotiations with their North Korean counterparts, the five Japanese officials will also encourage that North Korea jaculate to Japan soon the family members of five repatriated Japanese abductees, the ministry sources said.

Japan has been calling in succession North Korea to hold bilateral talks to unravel the outstanding issues ever since the couple countries held a meeting forward abduction issues last August in Beijing forward the sidelines of the first six-nation talks.

The sum of two units countries agreed at the time onward the resumption of talks, unless North Korea later did not answer to Japan's request.

However, the North has begun to ease its stand recently. In December, it reportedly propos to a arrange of Japanese lawmakers that the family members of the five abductees be allowed to tend hitherward to Japan if the abductees fitting them at Pyongyang airport.

Japanese Foreign Ministry officials also visited Pyongyang between Jan. 13 and Jan. 17 and asked that governmental negotiations be resumed

Tanaka, former Asian bureau chief before Yabunaka, is believed to have cease personal contacts with North Korea. He played a crucial character in bringing about Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's landmark visit to Pyongyang in September 2002 for talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.

Yabunaka heads Japan's delegation at the six-nation talks aimed at resolving North Korean nuclear ambitions. The upcoming multilateral talks come [i]or[/i] go after [i]or[/i] behind the first round of talks in August in the Chinese capital, which extreme pointed without much progress.

The five diplomats are scheduled to go [i]or[/i] come back to Japan on Saturday, according to the sources.

No major progres has been achieved upon resolving the abduction issue since October 2002 when the five abductees responded to Japan.

The five are among 13 Japanese who North Korea admitted in September that year it abducted to the North in the late 1970 and early 1980s

''It may be a change, given that North Korea has kept rejecting talks with the Japanese government'' said Toru Hasuike, whose brother Kaoru is united of the five abductees.

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