Diplomats from the US, Japan and South Korea will meet in Washington on Aug. 13 and Aug. 14 to coordinate policy on North Korea ahead of six-nation talks on Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program, a Japanese newspaper said yesterday.
The conservative Sankei Shimbun, quoting Japanese government sources, said senior diplomats from the three countries would hold an "informal" meeting to discuss a joint proposal they plan to present to North Korea.
A senior Japanese government official declined to confirm the specific dates or venue for the informal meeting, but said such talks could take place next week.
"Bearing in mind the possibility of six-nation talks being held this month, the three countries want to coordinate policy as soon as possible," he said.
"Therefore, there is a high possibility the informal meeting will take place next week," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The paper said the three nations had originally planned to conduct the meeting during the week starting on Aug. 18, but decided to bring it forward as the six-nation talks may be held by the end of the month.
North Korea said this week that the six-nation meeting would be held in Beijing "soon" but none of the participants, which also include China and Russia, has given a specific date.
On Thursday, another Japanese daily said North Korea wanted to hold the talks in the first week of next month while China, the host, wants to start them on Aug. 21 or Aug. 25.
The Yomiuri Shimbun, reporting from Washington and quoting "related sources," said the US also favored having the negotiations this month as the annual meeting of the UN's General Assembly would be held next month.
The Japanese official said the countries that will meet with North Korea wanted to have the six-way talks at an "early date."
But he said he did not expect an immediate breakthrough.
"Very few people would expect a comprehensive solution to the problem in the first round of talks. It is the beginning of a long process," the official said.
The current crisis over North Korea's nuclear program began last October following Washington's announcement that Pyongyang was pursuing a covert nuclear weapons program.
The planned six-way talks would come after months of confrontation between Pyongyang, which had insisted on bilateral talks with the US, and Washington, which had demanded that neighboring states take part in any talks.
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