Japan will work closely with the relevant parties to score substantial progress in the six-party talks, said a Japanese official at a news briefing in Beijing Monday evening.  

The official, who declined to disclose his name, briefed the reporters on the first meeting of the Japanese and US delegations after their arrival in Beijing.

According to the official, head of Japanese delegation Sasae Kenichiro and his US counterpart Christopher Hill held an hour-long meeting Monday morning, in which the two sides promised close cooperation during the talks to achieve positive results.

The official said that Japan is willing to play a constructive role and work closely with the concerned parties, especially the US and South Korea.

He reiterated that Japan will raise the "abduction issue" again during the talks, noting that Japan is willing to have bilateral talks with North Korea, whereas the "abduction issue" concerns the trust between the two nations.

However, North Korea said on July 23 in a commentary of the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) that it would not deal with Japan even in the six-party talks due to Japan's unjust stance over the talks and the "abduction issue."

North Korea confessed in 2002 that its agents had kidnapped 13 Japanese citizens in the 1970s and the 1980s to use them as language instructors for spies.

(Xinhua News Agency July 26, 2005)