Top negotiators from Japan and Russia on Monday discussed the next phase of six-party talks aimed at getting North Korea to scrap its nuclear programmes, officials here said. Tokyo's top envoy to the talks Kenichiro Sasae and his Moscow counterpart Alexander Losyukov "met in Tokyo and exchanged general opinions on how to proceed with the next phase" of the North's nuclear disarmament programme, agreed in February, an official at the foreign ministry said.
"The two envoys agreed on keeping close cooperation between Japan and Russia for productive discussion in the six-party talks," even though some difficulties are expected in the next phase," the foreign ministry said in a statement issued after the 30-minute meeting.
In February, the six nations reached a deal under which energy-starved North Korea is to receive one million tons of fuel oil or equivalent aid and diplomatic concessions in return for scrapping its nuclear weapons programmes.
The North shut down its main nuclear reactor complex last month, its first commitment under the agreement. The "declare and disable" phase is the second phase agreed by North and South Korea, China, Japan, Russia and the US.
Sasae and Losyukov last week participated an Asian security summit in Manila, which was also attended by Christopher Hill, the chief US envoy to the six-party talks on North Korea.
In Manila, Hill said: "It's a very, very busy schedule and it's just our hope that we can get through this and have an implementation plan for the second phase."
The next phase is crucial, Hill said, "because that's when the DPRK (North Korea) gives us a full declaration of their nuclear programmes and disables those same nuclear programmes."
Source: Agence France-Presse
