Japan and the United States agreed Monday that the dialogue between the United States and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) should be held within the six-party talks framework.

The consensus was reached during talks between Akitaka Saiki, Japan's chief negotiator for the six-party talks and Stephen Bosworth, U.S. special representative for DPRK policy.

During their meeting, Bosworth said talks between the United States and the DPRK will not be held "in any form" unless Pyongyang displays commitment to the agreement reached at the six- party denuclearization talks and "there is no immediate plan at all" for bilateral dialogue.

Saiki said that the DPRK will "not be able to win confidence" as long as it does not reaffirm its denuclearization commitment under the multilateral negotiations.

The two sides also voiced concerns over the DPRK's recent announcement that it is in the final stage of uranium enrichment.

The U.S. envoy arrived in Japan on Sunday and is scheduled to leave Tuesday. Japan is the final leg of Bosworth's three-nation trip, which has already taken him to China and South Korea.

(Xinhua News Agency September 7, 2009)