Russia sees possible ministerial talks on N.Korea

MOSCOW, Feb 1 (Reuters) Russia's envoy to six-party talks on North Korea said today foreign ministers might need to join the negotiating teams if progress was made during talks on February 8 in Beijing , RIA news agency reported.

''If this process moves in a positive direction and we need to speed it up, we will need a meeting at the ministerial level,'' Alexander Losyukov, who is also deputy foreign minister, told the agency.

The remark signalled a change in Losyukov's attitude. Yesterday he said he did not expect the new round of talks grouping both Koreas, the United States, Japan, China and Russia to yield any concrete results.

The talks are aimed at persuading Pyongyang to give up its military nuclear programme.

The Chinese envoy at the talks, Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei, also said on Wednesday that a ministerial meeting might be needed, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported.

But the Japanese government's top spokesman poured cold water on the plan.

''The Japanese government is not aware of any agreements being made,'' Kyodo quoted Yasuhisa Shiozaki as telling a news conference on Thursday. ''In any case, it is better not to come to any premature conclusions.'' The six-way talks resumed in December following a break of more than a year caused by North Korea's boycott of the negotiations in protest against U.S. financial sanctions.

That session came two months after North Korea raised the stakes by holding its first nuclear test.

Reuters SP DB2257