U.S. National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice says Washington will seek a diplomatic resolution to North Korea's nuclear standoff through six-way talks.
Rice made the remarks during talks with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in Tokyo Wednesday. Koizumi replied that it is imperative for the North's neighboring countries to continuously work together to persuade the communist North to abandon its nuclear ambitions.
Rice also held talks with Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi. On the thorny issue of Charles Jenkins, the American husband of former Japanese abductee Hitomi Soga, the two countries only said they will agree to remain in close contact on the matter.
Jenkins is accused by the United States of defecting to the North while serving in South Korea in 1965. Washington has said that it would immediately arrest Jenkins if he returns to Japan with his two daughters. Tokyo wants Washington to grant a pardon to Jenkins so that he can be reunited with his wife in Japan.
Rice's visit to Tokyo is the first leg of a three-nation Asian tour that will also take her to China on Thursday and Seoul on Friday.