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US envoy discusses new round of N Korean talks with Japan
Tokyo, Nov 17: The top US official on North Korea held talks with the Japanese government today after Pyongyang signalled it is ready to abandon its nuclear programme, injecting new optimism into attempts to defuse the year-long crisis.
Tokyo, Nov 17: The top US official on North Korea held talks with the Japanese government today after Pyongyang signalled it is ready to abandon its nuclear programme, injecting new optimism into attempts to defuse the year-long crisis.
After a day of talks with Japanese officials including Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda, James Kelly, US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific affairs, told reporters discussions had been "excellent" but resulted in no firm decisions.
"The discussion was excellent. We discussed every conceivable subject and we didn't decide on any of them," Fukuda said, adding they had helped pave the way for reviving stalled talks between United States, China, Japan, Russia and the two Koreas on resolving the crisis. "It's all about preparation and things we need to talk about for (the) six-way talks," he said.
The nuclear standoff erupted in October last year when Washington said North Korea had admitted to running a secret uranium-enrichment programme in violation of a 1994 accord with the United States.
Just before Kelly's arrival yesterday, Pyongyang said it was ready to abandon its nuclear programme "in practice" if the United States scrapped what North Korea calls a hostile policy towards the Communist country.
An inconclusive first round of six-nation talks took place in the Chinese capital Beijing in august. A second round of talks is likely to take place by the end of the year, according to South Korean, Japanese and US officials. Bureau Report
"The discussion was excellent. We discussed every conceivable subject and we didn't decide on any of them," Fukuda said, adding they had helped pave the way for reviving stalled talks between United States, China, Japan, Russia and the two Koreas on resolving the crisis. "It's all about preparation and things we need to talk about for (the) six-way talks," he said.
The nuclear standoff erupted in October last year when Washington said North Korea had admitted to running a secret uranium-enrichment programme in violation of a 1994 accord with the United States.
Just before Kelly's arrival yesterday, Pyongyang said it was ready to abandon its nuclear programme "in practice" if the United States scrapped what North Korea calls a hostile policy towards the Communist country.
An inconclusive first round of six-nation talks took place in the Chinese capital Beijing in august. A second round of talks is likely to take place by the end of the year, according to South Korean, Japanese and US officials. Bureau Report