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North Koreans to take part in security conference in Tokyo

The Japanese government yesterday issued an entry permit for North Korea's chief nuclear negotiator and four other officials to attend a security conference in Tokyo next week, a news report said.

The US embassy announced on Tuesday that officials from the six countries participating in stalled North Korean nuclear disarmament talks -- the US, China, Japan, Russia and two Koreas -- would meet at a privately sponsored conference in Tokyo next Monday and Tuesday.

The talks come amid efforts to salvage the nuclear talks, which have been halted since November by a dispute over restrictions the US imposed on a Macau-based bank and North Korean companies for alleged illegal financial activities.

Yesterday, Japan issued the entry permit to North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan and four others, Kyodo News agency reported from Beijing, citing unidentified Japanese officials.

Kim, who arrived in Beijing Thursday morning en route to Tokyo, was quoted as saying by Kyodo that he regards the Tokyo conference as important. The report said North Korea's deputy chief of mission to the UN, Han Song-ryol, was traveling with him.

Yasuhiro Togo, an immigration bureau spokesman at Japan's Justice Ministry, said he could not comment on individual visa cases, to protect personal privacy.

A Foreign Ministry official, citing ministry protocol to speak under condition of anonymity, would say only that Japan was making the necessary arrangement to ensure the visit of Kim, as well as Han. He refused to provide other details, citing privacy concerns.

The private conference next week also is expected to draw US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Chun Young-woo, and Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Koji Tsuruoka. The meeting is sponsored by the University of California Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation.

Kyodo earlier reported that Japan plans to urge Hill and Kim to hold bilateral talks while they are in Japan.

South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon said on Wednesday he expected "an opportunity will naturally rise for exchange of opinions" between representatives of North Korea and other countries on the nuclear issue.

Last September, the North agreed in the six-party talks to abandon its nuclear program in exchange for aid and security guarantees. Since then, however, no progress has been made on implementing the accord.

The US, meanwhile, has increased pressure on the Macau-based Banco Delta Asia and North Korean companies for alleged involvement in counterfeiting, money laundering and weapons proliferation.

North Korea has denied the allegations and vowed not to return to the talks until the restrictions are lifted. The US has refused to lift the penalties, saying they are separate from the arms talks.

North Korea declared last year that it has nuclear weapons, although the claim hasn't been independently confirmed.
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