Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki said on Friday that Japan is willing to have bilateral talks with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on the sidelines of the six-party talks, which is to resume on Monday in Beijing.

 

"We hold the expectation that bilateral talks can be realized," Kyodo News quoted Shiozaki as saying. He also added that Japan wants to discuss a wide range of issues with the DPRK, including the abduction of Japanese nationals.

 

Shiozaki reiterated Japan's insistence to raise the abduction issue at the six-party talks and its stance of not acknowledging the DPRK as a nuclear state, according to Kyodo.

 

(Xinhua News Agency December 16, 2006)