Japan,N.Korea talks set for Oct 29-30 in Malaysia
( 2002-10-09 11:26 ) (7 )

Japan and North Korea will resume talks in Kuala Lumpur on October 29 on establishing diplomatic relations, a Japanese government source said on Wednesday.

The two historic foes have agreed to hold full-scale normalisation talks for two days in the Malaysian capital, said a Japanese government source who declined to be identified.

"The formal announcement will be made after approval at a meeting of cabinet ministers this afternoon," the source told Reuters.

Normalisation talks between Tokyo and Pyongyang have been stalled for two years, blocked by a range of problems including the abductions by North Korean agents of Japanese and Pyongyang's demand for reparations for suffering during Japan's 1910-45 colonisation of Korea.

In landmark talks in Pyongyang last month, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il agreed to resume talks on forging diplomatic ties in October.

But Koizumi came under pressure to put off the plans from many Japanese who were doubtful and angry about Pyongyang's account of the deaths of eight Japanese nationals who were abducted by North Korean agents decades ago.