Japan and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea would resume stalled talks at an unspecified time, Japan's foreign minister said Tuesday.

The agreement was reached during the six-party talks ending on Monday in Beijing, Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura told a press conference.

The talks will not be addressing the normalization of bilateral diplomatic relations, but "will be a necessary step toward that end," he said.

The bilateral talks have been suspended since last November, mainly because of the bitter dispute over the abducted Japanese issue.

Machimura said he hoped the talks would start "as soon as possible."

A joint statement issued after the six-party negotiations said the DPRK and Japan agreed to work toward normalization of ties.

Source: Xinhua