Japan on Thursday urged North Korea to take seriously a resolution issued by the U.N. Human Rights Commission that criticizes the North's human rights abuses.

"I want North Korea to take it seriously," Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said. "Abduction is one of the most extreme cases of human rights abuse."

The prime minister was referring to the abduction of Japanese nationals by Pyongyang agents.

The resolution, adopted Wednesday in Geneva, features references to North Korea's abduction of foreigners and urges Pyongyang to solve the issue "clearly and transparently."

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda underlined this point, saying, "We regard it highly as a significant resolution."

Although North Korea has objected to the resolution, Fukuda urged Pyongyang to face up to the specter of international condemnation.

"Now that there is a resolution, we urge (North Korea) to deal with it in a sincere manner," he said.

Roh set to visit Japan

SEOUL (Kyodo) South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun plans to visit Japan in early June for talks with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi over the North Korean nuclear standoff and other topics, a government source said Thursday.

The trip is being arranged for June 9 to June 11, although this schedule may be altered, the source said.

The visit will follow Roh's visit to the United States between May 11 and May 17, when he will engage in a summit with U.S. President George W. Bush.

Roh's trips to the U.S. and Japan will follow trilateral talks involving the U.S., North Korea and China in Beijing on April 23 over Pyongyang's suspected development of nuclear arms.

During his talks with Koizumi, Roh will likely address the issue of removing South Korea's ban on Japanese cultural products, along with the prospects of a bilateral free trade agreement, the source said.

Roh, who took office Feb. 25, also plans to visit China and Russia this year.

Beijing 'flexible'

BEIJING (Kyodo) Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing told Japanese opposition leader Naoto Kan on Thursday that China is flexible on the issue of Japanese and South Korean participation in multilateral talks aimed at resolving the North Korean nuclear standoff.

China brokered the trilateral talks planned for next week. The United States, China and North Korea are scheduled to participate.

Li was quoted as telling Kan, president of the Democratic Party of Japan, that Beijing is "flexible about the form of dialogue, if parties agree."

U.S. officials said Wednesday they will seek the early inclusion of Japan and South Korea in the talks.

The talks, which a U.S. official described as a "first step," are expected to take place Wednesday in Beijing.

Li stated that the meeting would be an unpredictable affair, according to Kan.

On Tokyo's behalf, Kan asked Beijing to persuade Pyongyang to accept Japanese and South Korean participation in the discussions.

Last week, North Korea softened its stance on pursuing a multilateral platform to resolve the standoff over its alleged development of nuclear weapons.

Pyongyang had previously insisted on bilateral talks with Washington.

The crisis erupted in October, when the U.S. declared that the North had admitted running a program to enrich uranium, possibly for use in weapons, thereby violating major international treaty commitments.