DPRK, Japan foreign ministers hold rare talks in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR - Foreign Ministers of Japan and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) held bilateral talks here Thursday on the sidelines of a series of regional meetings, a DPRK spokesman confirmed.

DPRK Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong and his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida discussed the implementation of government-to- government agreements between the two sides, said Ri Tong Il, spokesman for the foreign minister of DPRK.

However, the issue of abduction has not been touched at the bilateral meeting, Ri told reporters.

The spokesman did not give further details on the rare high- level meeting between the two governments, which have not established diplomatic ties.

The two ministers are here to attend a series of foreign ministers'meetings of ASEAN and its dialogue partners, including the ASEAN Regional Forum, in which both DPRK and Japan are participating.

Japan and DPRK reached an agreement last year that Japan would partially lift its sanctions on the DPRK while the DPRK would launch a new round of investigations into the whereabouts of the Japanese citizens abducted in the 1970s and 1980s.