Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi asked DPRK's vice foreign minister Wednesday to relay his message to DPRK leader Kim Jong Il about the normalization of bilateral ties and the six-party talks on Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions, a Japanese official said.

Koizumi told DPRK Vice Foreign Minister Choe Su Hon in New York that it is important for the North to follow through the Japan-DPRK Pyongyang Declaration in advancing the process of normalizing bilateral relations, the official told reporters.

Koizumi also said it is important to use the six-party framework to resolve the standoff with DPRK over its nuclear arms program, according to the official.

Koizumi asked Choe to relay his message to Kim and the DPRK vice foreign minister pledged to convey it to DPRK, the official said.

The declaration, signed by Koizumi and Kim during their historic summit in September 2002, calls for the resolution of issues linked to the abduction of Japanese nationals by DPRK agents and the North's missile and nuclear programs.

Koizumi talked briefly with Choe at a reception hosted by Japanese Ambassador to the United Nations Koichi Haraguchi for foreign delegates to the annual U.N. General Assembly session.

Source: Agencies