'5-nation' talks may be held on N. Korea

TOKYO, May 13 (UPI) -- The Japanese foreign minister suggests that if North Korea refuses to return to the six-party talks, the other countries involved could hold "five-nation" talks.

Nobutaka Machimura told reporters Friday that Japan, China, South Korea, Russia and the United States are considering the "five-nation" option as one possible route out of the stalemate on North Korea's nuclear ambitions, Kyodo News Service reported.

But Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda said at a news conference that the government still believes that bringing North Korea back to the table is the best choice.

North Korea recently announced that it has removed thousands of spent fuel rods from a nuclear plant, a step towards extracting plutonium.