Japan must consider providing humanitarian assistance to North Korea's disaster victims, and without tying it to bilateral political issues, including Pyongyang's abductions of Japanese nationals, Chief Cabinet Secretary Kaoru Yosano said Tuesday.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>However, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe stopped short of clarifying his stance on emergency aid, simply saying he will keep tabs on a meeting this week of the Japan-North Korea working group on normalizing ties under the six-party talks on denuclearizing the North.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>'I think the working group should be held first,' Abe told reporters, referring to the bilateral meeting Wednesday and Thursday in Ulan Bator.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>Abe also brushed aside reports that the U.S. agreed to remove North Korea from its list of state sponsors of terrorism during bilateral talks over the weekend in Geneva.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>He said the U.S. has said it will 'not leave the abduction issue behind,' apparently referring to Tokyo's repeated requests that Washington not delist North Korea until the abduction issue is resolved to Japan's satisfaction.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>Earlier in the day, Yosano made similar comments on the reports, saying, 'I have heard that the United States has again clearly notified the North Korean side that it will not carry forward the U.S.-North Korea relationship by sacrificing the Japan-U.S. relationship.'</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>The abductions are an emotional topic in Japan. North Korea maintains the issue has been resolved, while Japan is seeking more information on missing abductees.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>On the humanitarian assistance issue, Yosano told a news conference, 'I want the Foreign Ministry to consider it fully.'</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>The remarks came after Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura said last week that Japan may participate in the U.N. call for &#36;14 million in assistance to victims of floods in North Korea triggered by heavy rain in July.</PARAGRAPH> <SUBHEAD> Song upbeat on talks</SUBHEAD> <PARAGRAPH> BEIJING –

North Korea's delegate to normalization discussions with Japan said Tuesday he is hoping for the best from talks with his Japanese counterpart to be held in Ulan Bator this week.

"I would like to refrain from commenting on the outlook before it happens," Song Il Ho said after arriving in Beijing on his way to Mongolia.

But "it has been six months since talks in Hanoi, so I have a certain level of expectations," he added, referring to the last session of talks on diplomatic normalization that were held in Hanoi.