An official with the Japanese delegation to the six-party talks said in Beijing yesterday Japan hoped to have bilateral talks with the DPRK, and hoped achievements would be made by all six parties.

The official, who declined to give his name and title, said the Japanese side hoped to see a positive attitude and concrete action towards the denuclearization issue by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

"We will make this our goal and strive for concrete results from the talks," said the official.

He said Japan's basic position was still the verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

While hailing the six-party talks as a "most suitable" framework for resolving the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, the official said China, as host, has played a very important role in the talks.

"We know that China has made great efforts to get the six-party talks resumed and we appreciate the work China has done," he said,adding Japan will keep close contacts and make joint efforts with China.

The official also considered it necessary to set up a working group meeting under the six-party talks to discuss detailed issues.

Japan's top negotiator Kenichiro Sasae said on Sunday "it is important that in this round of talks the DPRK takes a concrete step towards denuclearization".

Chief negotiators to the six-party talks gathered here Monday morning, initiating a new round of talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.

The six parties held "serious, frank and pragmatic" talks on the first day, said Jiang Yu, a spokeswoman for the Chinese delegation to the talks, on Monday afternoon at a news briefing.

She said the parties each described their position on implementing the joint statement reached in the fourth round of talks in September 2005, and made suggestions, but differences still remained on how the implementation should be carried out.