U.S. not to hold direct talks with N. Korea for the time being+

TOKYO, April 19 Kyodo -
The United States has given Japan assurances that it will not hold one-to-one
talks with North Korea for the time being, accepting Tokyo's call for
prioritizing the maintenance of the six-party framework, a senior Japanese
government official said Sunday.

Concerns were growing in the Japanese government that the development of
bilateral talks between the United States and North Korea would distract their
attention from the issue of the abduction of Japanese nationals by Pyongyang,
but the senior official said the assurances have allayed these fears.
The abduction issue has a high priority for Japan.
North Korea's threat to withdraw from the six-party talks on its
denuclearization led U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to hint at the
possibility of direct talks with Pyongyang.
But several senior U.S. officials have assured Japan that they will focus on
the six-party framework rather than seeking bilateral talks with North Korea,
according to the Japanese official.
The six-party talks involve the two Koreas, China, the United States, Japan and
Russia.
==Kyodo