Japan in talks for Oct Asian summits--Kyodo

TOKYO, Sep 29 (Reuters) Japan is in talks to hold summit meetings with both China and South Korea in the second half of October, Kyodo news agency said today, citing informed sources.

South Korea and China had shunned summits with Japan's previous prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi, over his pilgrimages to the Yasukuni Shrine, where Japanese wartime leaders convicted as war criminals are honoured along with the nation's millions of war dead.

Shinzo Abe, who took over from Koizumi this week, backed his predecessor's visits to Yasukuni, but has declined to say whether he would visit the shrine as prime minister.

The youngest Japanese leader since World War Two, 52-year-old Abe told reporters yesteday he proposed to meet the South Korean leader at an early date, but today added that the details had yet to be decided.

Contradictory reports on the possible timing for both summits have emerged from Tokyo and Seoul, while Kyodo had said earlier that a China-Japan summit was unlikely.

A Seoul official said on Friday that arrangements were being made for Abe to meet South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun in early October.

Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso told reporters today that Tokyo and Beijing were close to agreement on the need for a meeting between Abe and Chinese President Hu Jintao in October.

A Japanese government source has said that China wants assurances that Abe will not visit the war shrine while in office before agreeing to a summit.

An official Chinese newspaper warned Japan this week that Abe's ambiguous stance on Yasukuni could block improved ties with Beijing.

Talks between diplomats from the two countries ended on Monday with the two sides far apart.

Some analysts say that Japan and South Korea will also be unable to return to their custom of regular summits unless Abe clearly pledges not to visit Yasukuni.

REUTERS PR RK1910