Japanese PM seeks 'concrete' results from nuclear talks

Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe said today that his country will work closely with other countries to pressure North Korea to giving up its nuclear weapons if international talks on the impasse reconvene.

"If the six-party talks are resumed, we shall, while maintaining close co-ordination with the US and other countries concerned, seek early and concrete results," Abe told a press conference at the conclusion of a visit to the Philippines.

Abe was referring to negotiations involving China, Japan, North Korea, Russia, South Korea and the US aimed at getting Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear weapons programme.

"We believe it is necessary for North Korea to show concrete actions toward the abandonment of all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programmes," said Abe.

He did not say when the talks might resume or elaborate on what kind of results Japan would be seeking.

Abe's remarks came amid a flurry of speculation about when the talks, stalled for a year, might restart.

China has proposed resuming them on December 16, but the US and North Korea have not formally agreed to the date, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported.

Yonhap cited unidentified diplomatic sources as saying that the North is likely to accept the date.

Japan's Kyodo news agency carried a similar report, saying the Chinese offer received no opposition from the other participants.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack also said the US was "still hopeful that we'll be able to have a round that convenes this year, within the next week or so".