Japan and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) will not resume normalization talks before the end of the year, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi said yesterday.
Kawaguchi made the remarks after meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi at his office, Japan's Kyodo News reported.
The differences between the two sides are "considerably huge" and it will be difficult to have a clear view about future bilateral negotiations, Kawaguchi was quoted as reporting.
Earlier in the day, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda denied reports that the DPRK had taken a tough line when discussing the abductions of Japanese nationals during informal talks between senior diplomats from the two sides last weekend.
(Xinhua News Agency November 27, 2002)
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