A high-ranking government official says Japan needs to take a more active and positive attitude on the six-way nuclear talks.

The official on Monday noted Japan's passivity in a recent trilateral meeting with South Korea and the United States, adding Seoul said such an attitude does not contribute to the success of the six-way talks.

On whether Japan will raise the North’s abductions of Japanese nationals in the next round of the talks, he said issues unrelated to Pyongyang's nuclear program could be discussed through other channels, such as direct talks between the two countries.