North Korea told Japan on Saturday that it will respond to Tokyo's request for early bilateral talks on issues including the North's abduction of Japanese "through an appropriate route," Japan's chief negotiator said.
Mitoji Yabunaka, head of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, said North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan responded to his request to schedule the next bilateral meeting promptly.
"We were not able to gain a positive reaction from North Korea in the bilateral contacts this time, but since we have agreed to continue governmental talks, we want to further exert our efforts toward a resolution" of outstanding issues, he told a press conference.
Yabunaka and Kim talked for about 10 minutes after Saturday's closing ceremony for the six-party conference on the North's nuclear ambitions in their fourth bilateral contact, Japanese officials said.