Tokyo, Sept 05: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday praised Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's decision to make an unprecedented visit to North Korea on September 17, officials here said.
Putin told Koizumi in a telephone conversation that he "highly and positively" appreciated the decision, said the premier's deputy press secretary, Misako Kaji.

"An improvement in relations between Japan and (North) Korea is important as it helps expand cooperative relations in the Far East and Asian region," Putin was quoted by the secretary as telling Koizumi.

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Koizumi made a surprise announcement last week that he would meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il in Pyongyang on September 17 seeking to improve relations, despite lingering rows dating to World War II and Cold War years.

Putin himself met Kim in the Russian port city of Vladivostok as he has sought to a play a leading role in bringing the reclusive North Korean leader out of political isolation.

Thursday was the first time that Putin publicly and personally welcomed the planned Koizumi-Kim summit but the Russian foreign ministry earlier hailed Koizumi's decision as did the United States, China and South Korea.

Rapprochement talks between Tokyo and Pyongyang have been stalled over Japan's demand for the return of 11 Japanese allegedly kidnapped by North Korean agents in the 1970s and 1980s.

North Korea on its part has insisted that Japan pay compensation for its 1910-1945 colonial rule over the whole Korean peninsula. Bureau Report