Japan, North Korea to Hold Talks on Normalizing Ties

Japan says it will hold talks with North Korea next week on normalizing relations. Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yasuhiso Shiozaki, said Wednesday that the two sides will meet in the Vietnamese capital, Hanoi, March seventh and eighth. He says the two countries will also hold an informal meeting March sixth.

Japan is expected to push for resolution of the dispute over Japanese citizens kidnapped by North Korean agents decades ago. The issue has prevented the two sides from normalizing relations.

The meeting is part of an agreement reached at the last round of six-party talks on crisis of the North Korean nuclear project, in which both Tokyo and the United States agreed to begin talks on normalizing ties with North Korea.

日本表示，下星期将就关系正常化问题与北韩举行会谈。日本内阁官房长官盐崎宫久星期三说，双方3月7号和8号将在越南首都河内会晤。他说，两国3月6号将先举行一次非正式会谈。

预计，日本将努力争取解决双方因北韩几十年前绑架日本公民而引起的争端。这个问题一直阻碍两国关系正常化。

这次会议是最新一轮有关北韩核项目危机的六方会谈达成协议的一部分。在协议中，日本和美国都同意开始与北韩进行关系正常化的会谈。