The Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has said he believed North Korea was willing to
make progress in the next round of six-party talks on ending its nuclear ambitions.
"I got the feeling that the North Koreans are willing to make progress ahead of the six-party talks," Koizumi told a small group of foreign reporters, referring to his meeting last month with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.
China has proposed holding the next round of talks aimed at dismantling North Korea's nuclear arms programme in Beijing during the week of June 21 and Japanese media reports have said June 23 is the likely starting date.
Last month's working-level talks between Japan, China, North and South Korea, Russia and the United States yielded little progress, with North Korea rejecting US demands that it completely dismantle its nuclear programmes.