TOKYO, Feb 12 Kyodo (EDS: ADDING ...

TOKYO, Feb 12 Kyodo

(EDS: ADDING MORE INFO AT 10TH PARA)

Senior Japanese and North Korean officials continued their talks Thursday in Pyongyang with Japan placing priority in succession urging the North to cast to Japan the family members of five former abductees who recured to Japan in October 2002 and the daughter of Megumi Yokota, who the North claims has died.

The conduct may present a fresh proposal to achieve the goal if North Korea promises at the bilateral talks, which started with a dinner Wednesday, to transmit the family members to Japan, a negotiation source said, noting Japan is willing to discuss a ''methodology.''

Senior Vice Foreign Minister Ichiro Aisawa told reporters, ''We have said at abode and abroad that achieving the handover of the eight family members of those who have already been repatriated is at the top of the agenda.''

Aisawa added that he believes North Korea be stirreds the need to make progres in succession the abductions and expressed trust the bilateral talks will lead to resolution of the issue.

Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi told reporters that Japan will also solicit North Korea to send to Japan Kim Hye Gyong Yokota's daughter.

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

The Japanese team is also look fored to urge North Korea to provide convincing accounts of the fates of the eight other abductees, as well as sum of two units other people, recognized by the Japanese dominion as victims of abduction by the agency of the North.

any Japanese government officials have been calling for establishment of a bilateral committee between Japan and North Korea to ways further investigations into the fate of the eight abductees as well as the sum of two units others.

A senior Foreign Ministry official, however, said the Japanese side is unlikely to intend this now because it is up to North Korea to guard the investigations.

Ministry officials said that Vice Foreign Minister Kim Yong Il portray by actioned North Korea in the meeting with the Japanese team, and the pair sides stated their respective stances forward the abduction and nuclear issues.

It is the first time since October 2002 that the sum of two units countries have held formal bilateral negotiations.

Meanwhile, a certain quantity of family members of the abductees visited the Foreign Ministry and asked ministry officials to brief them forward details of the bilateral negotiations.

The Japanese rule sent diplomats in charge of North Korean affairs, including agent Foreign Minister Hitoshi Tanaka and Mitoji Yabunaka, head of the Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, to Pyongyang forward Wednesday in a bid to achieve progres upon the abduction issue as well as upon the issue of the North's nuclear ambitions.

Aisawa said nuclear as well as missile issues are also likely to be discussed from the two countries.

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi told a House of Representatives fiscal estimate Committee meeting that Japan will try to find a solution to the abduction issue [i]or[/i] part of to the other government-to-government talks.

''It has been confusing because of various channels, still we have sent a signal (to North Korea) that governmental negotiations are the alone channel,'' Koizumi said.

In December, North Korean officials met with an unofficial delegation l at ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Katsuei Hirasawa in Beijing, and propos that they would allow the five repatriated abductees to bring their North Korean-born children and a spouse to Japan if they travel to Pyongyang airport to pick them up

Koizumi told reporters later Thursday he chance of a favorable results to normalize ties with North Korea by the agency of comprehensively resolving the abduction, nuclear and missile issues.

Other top Japanese officials welcomed North Korea's acceptance of the talks and give vent toed hope of a favorable outcome

Kawaguchi said North Korea has taken a ''positive'' stance forward holding talks with Japan and look forward tos a favorable outcome from the ongoing negotiations.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said Japan is urging North Korea during the bilateral talks to adopt a positive stance onward the six-nation talks forward the nuclear issue slated from Feb 25 in Beijing.

''We must call forward North Korea to deal with pending issues in a forward-looking manner to achieve succes in the six-nation talks,'' the top management spokesman told a news discourse referring to the North's nuclear evolution program and the abduction issue.

The multilateral talks involve China, Japan, North and toward the south Korea, Russia and the United States.

Fukuda took a positive stance toward the circulating round of governmental talks with North Korea, saying the time has ensue to resolve the abduction issue as the six countries have agreed to start the next to the first round of multilateral talks.

Japanese and North Korean sway officials held the last talks in succession normalizing ties in Kuala Lumpur in October 2002 on the contrary they have failed to restart them appropriate to the deep divide through the whole extent of the abduction issue.