N Korea puts Japan talks on ice

North Korea is slowly moving out of decades of isolation

By the BBC's Charles Scanlon in Tokyo

North Korea has postponed the resumption of talks on establishing diplomatic relations with Japan amid reports that negotiations are deadlocked.

The Japanese Prime Minister, Yoshiro Mori, confirmed that a North Korean delegation would not come to Tokyo as planned next week.

A Japanese team visited North Korea in April, seven years after the last attempt to reach an agreement was broken off.

Japan wants talks on Pyongyang's missiles

North Korea is slowly emerging from its diplomatic isolation and establishing formal ties with Japan is thought to remain one of its key objectives.

But the process is proving difficult for both sides. Little was achieved in the North Korean capital Pyongyang in April when talks resumed.

Pyongyang's decision to postpone the return visit to Tokyo is another indication of problems.

North Korea may have decided to wait until after next month's meeting between its supreme leader, Kim Jong-Il and the South Korean President, Kim Dae-Jung.

If progress is made there, Japan will come under pressure to fall in line with South Korea and the United States, both of which are pushing for reconciliation with the North.

Missing

North Korea is demanding an apology from Japan and billions of dollars in compensation for its occupation by Japanese forces in the first half of the last century.

Prime Minister Mori: Negotiations need patience

Japan wants reassurances about North Korea's long-range missile programme.

But it is the plight of ten missing Japanese citizens that is proving the real stumbling block. Their families and support groups say they were kidnapped by North Korean agents in the 1970s.

North Korea denies it, although it has said it will help look for any missing people. That was meant to be a concession but the Japanese government's hands are increasingly tied.

It will find it hard to do a deal with North Korea until the mystery of the missing women has been resolved.