S.Korea, Japan resume N.Korea nuke talk

SEOUL, Jan. 29 (UPI) -- Top South Korean and Japanese nuclear negotiators discussed ways Thursday to restart talks on ending North Korea's nuclear program, officials said.

South Korea's Kim Sook and his Japanese counterpart Akitaka Saiki had a 90-minute luncheon meeting in Seoul with "a wide-ranging exchange of opinion on the six-way talks," South Korean foreign ministry spokesman Moon Tae-young told the Yonhap news service.

Another senior ministry official told reporters that Kim and Saiki reaffirmed their view on the effectiveness of the six-way talks as a framework for denuclearizing the North.

The negotiators also agreed to have "close consultation on the direction of the talks as early as possible after the U.S. names officials to take charge of the nuclear issue," the official said.