U.S. Nuke Envoy Hopes Japan-N.Korea Meet

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill leaves a hotel in Beijing, China, Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2006. The United States and North Korea were to have a second day of one-on-one talks on Wednesday to address the North's nuclear weapons program and alleged financial crimes that have tripped up international disarmament negotiations. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan) (Ng Han Guan - AP)

BEIJING -- The top U.S. envoy to the North Korean nuclear talks expressed hope Wednesday that Japan and North Korea would meet on the sidelines of the six-nation negotiations to discuss normalizing their relations.

Japan is the only participating nation that has not met separately with North Korean delegates since the talks resumed Monday in Beijing after a 13-month hiatus.

While the thrust is to dismantle the North's nuclear weapons program, the talks are also about improving diplomatic ties between the nations, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said.

"The normalization process depends on the discussion of ongoing issues and clearly the Japanese have some issues that need to be addressed," Hill told reporters.

"It's our hope that there can be a bilateral meeting between the DPRK and the Japanese aiming at these issues," he said. DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's official name.

Hill did not specify the issues to be resolved between Tokyo and Pyongyang, but Japanese leaders have been demanding more information about Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea decades ago.

The North has acknowledged kidnapping 13 Japanese citizens in the 1970s and 1980s to tutor its spies in Japanese language and culture. Pyongyang allowed five to return home and says the others are dead. It has refused to respond to demands for more information.

Japan's top envoy Kenichiro Sasae said Wednesday that "Japan has always kept its door open for dialogue," indicating that Japan planned to wait for North Korea to make an approach.

China is hosting the talks, which also involve South Korea and Russia.