The government announced Tuesday that it will resume food aid to North Korea, setting the stage for full-fledged talks on normalizing diplomatic relations.

Japan and North Korea have agreed to launch the talks early next month, resuming negotiations that collapsed in 1992, Chief Cabinet Secretary Mikio Aoki announced at a press conference.

The government hopes the renewed food assistance will help it settle various matters between the two countries, Aoki said.

"The government has made the decision (on the food assistance) from a humanitarian viewpoint and with the expectation that Pyongyang will handle various problems between the two countries in a positive manner," the top government spokesman said.

The various issues include the alleged abductions of Japanese citizens by North Korean agents, he said.

Japan will offer 100,000 tons of rice to North Korea through the U.N. World Food Program, restoring food aid to Pyongyang for the first time in three years. The specific date has not been set, according to the government.

Tokyo will convey the details of the food aid plan to the North Korean side during talks between Red Cross officials of the two countries in Beijing on Monday. It will start full-fledged normalization negotiations in April in Pyongyang.

The second round of normalization talks is planned to be held in Tokyo, with the third round set to be held in Beijing or a third country, Aoki said.

"I believe (North Korea) will use the rice as we hope," Aoki said.

The government's announcement followed the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's decision earlier in the day to approve the resumption of aid.

New Komeito has already agreed to the plan, but the LDP's other ally, the Liberal Party, has been reluctant to approve it, saying the government has not made progress in resolving the alleged abductions of Japanese by North Korean agents.

"(The government) acknowledges the various opinions in the ruling parties," Aoki said. "But we have determined that the food assistance will lead to a brighter prospect (in the future talks between the two countries,)" he said.

Foreign Minister Yohei Kono stressed Japan's intention to resume food aid in an effort to engage Pyongyang in normalization negotiations with Tokyo.

"It is time to bring North Korea to the bargaining table," Kono told reporters Tuesday. "So we have asked the (ruling) party to allow us to do this job (to resume food aid.)"

Citing North Korea's recent moves to improve relations with Italy and Australia, as well as progress in talks with the U.S., Kono stressed that Tokyo must seize this opportunity and launch full-scale normalization talks with Pyongyang.

Kono expressed his determination to tackle the abductions issue once the two countries begin full-scale negotiations.

"Although the government shares the concerns of relatives of the abducted people, inaction would never lead to a solution," Kono claimed.

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi also pledged to work toward resolving the issue of alleged abductions.

"Of course we must resolve (the abduction issue) as soon as possible, and in order to do this, we must deepen our relations with North Korea," he said.

"I think we must be tenacious in our efforts so that diplomatic ties can eventually be normalized," Obuchi said.

The two countries held preparatory talks for the normalization of ties in December but failed to name a date for a following meeting, partly because of disagreement over the details of the search for the missing Japanese believed in North Korea.

In the past, Japan has offered food assistance to North Korea four times in through the WFP and directly on the government level, according to the Foreign Ministry.

The Rome-based WFP currently has a total of 87 staff at five offices in North Korea, who are engaged in distribution and monitoring of donated food.