North Korea and Japan will hold talks next week on establishing diplomatic relations and resolving other disputes in Hanoi, Vietnam as agreed in the latest six-party nuclear talks.

Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki told a news briefing on Wednesday that working-level talks on normalizing ties with Pyongyang will begin on March seventh in the Vietnamese capital and continue for two days.

Shiozaki said the two sides will hold informal discussions a day before the two-day meeting begins, adding that Tokyo aims to hold intensive talks on the North’s past abduction of Japanese nationals.

The North Korean delegation will be led by Song Il-ho, Pyongyang's chief negotiator for bilateral talks with Tokyo, while the Japanese side will be headed by Koichi Haraguchi.

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