A top Japanese official says Pyongyang must not be allowed to delay the next round of six-way nuclear talks on the pretext of U.S. President George W. Bush's verbal swipes at the North Korean leader.

In a news conference Tuesday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda said the North cannot be allowed to use Bush's remarks as "an excuse" to delay the negotiating process.

Hosoda was referring to Pyongyang's reported demand that Washington apologize in light of Bush's labeling of Kim Jong-il as a "tyrant" during recent presidential campaign speeches. The North Koreans have insisted that such an apology is crucial to keeping the six-way nuclear dialogue on track.