US Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly said in Tokyo Monday he expected a fresh round of six-party talks on the nuclear issue of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) would be held in mid-December.  

Kelly held a closed-door meeting here with Mitoji Yabunaka, head of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanic Affairs Bureau.

The details of the talks were not disclosed but local reports said topics may include a timetable of a written nonaggression guarantee from the United States to the DPRK, the expected six-party talks and the issue of abducted Japanese.

Kelly arrived in Tokyo on Sunday and is scheduled to leave on Tuesday for China and South Korea.

In his meeting with Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda after arriving here, Kelly briefed Fukuda on the preparations for the expected second round of six-party talks on the DPRK's nuclear programs, Kyodo News reported.

He also held talks with Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Shinzo Abe. In the meeting, Kelly agreed that the issue of the Japanese who were abducted by DPRK in 1970s and early 1980s would be taken up at the second round, Kyodo quoted participants as saying.

China, the DPRK, the United States, South Korea, Japan and Russia held the first round of talks in August in Beijing.

(Xinhua News Agency November 18, 2003)