A Japanese-North Korean working group on bilateral relations held two-day talks in Hanoi following a breakthrough at six-nation nuclear talks in Beijing in February, when Pyongyang agreed to shut down its reactor in exchange for energy supplies and other incentives.
"Our position aimed at improving North Korea-Japan relations has remained unaltered," Kyodo quoted North Korea's top negotiator Song Il Ho.
"On the second day of talks, the parties voiced their positions on ways to improve relations, including on the abductions [of Japanese citizens by North Korea] and [Japan's] reparation for colonial aggression," Kyodo quoted a member of the Japanese delegation. "The working group ended the session after that, but made a decision to continue opinion exchanges on those issues."
Thursday's talks only lasted 45 minutes, when Japan reiterated its demand to readdress the problem of abductions in the 1970s-80s. The North said it would consider re-investigating the abductions after Japan agreed to compensate for its colonial aggression in the 1910-1945, end pressure on pro-North Korean residents in Japan, and lift sanctions imposed after Pyongyang conducted its first nuclear bomb tests in October.
On Wednesday, North Korea's delegation ended negotiations abruptly over Japan's tough position on the abductions, but the parties agreed to resume dialogue later in the day.
The Japan-North Korea working group is one of five groups to be set up to facilitate the Communist nation's nuclear disarmament under an agreement in Beijing.
A senior Chinese Foreign Ministry official said Thursday the groups would be set up before March 19, when the six nations - two Koreas, China, the United States, Russia, and Japan - would resume negotiations.
Qin Gang said China was holding intensive consultations with the countries involved on the matter, but no specific result had been achieved so far. But he said the groups would be created before the six-party talks.
The other bilateral group to improve relations between North Korea and the U.S. met in Washington earlier this week and was described in media reports as successful.
The other groups will address the denuclearization process, economic aid to the impoverished country, and security in northeast Asia and will work in a multilateral format.
