SEOUL, Feb. 4 (Xinhuanet) -- South Korean foreign minister said Wednesday it is better not to include the issue of Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s abduction of Japanese citizens in the upcoming new round multilateral nuclear talks, as the meeting should focus on eliminating the DPRK's nuclear weapons program.

    Ban Ki-moon was quoted by South Korean Yonhap News Agency as saying that they "fully understand the Japanese government's position and concern regarding the abduction issue and support Japan's position," however, "there will be an opportunity to deal with this kind of issue through other channels."

    Ban's remarks came one day after he DPRK announced that the new round six-nation nuclear talks will be held on Feb. 25 in Beijing.

    Japan wants to address the abduction issue in multilateral nuclear talks for it believes a solution to the nuclear crisis should be a comprehensive one that addresses not only nuclear issue, but also all other pending issues involving the DPRK.

    But the DPRK accused Tokyo of being an obstacle to resolving the nuclear crisis and of attempting to "politicize" the kidnapping issue.

    In September 2002, Pyongyang admitted that its agents kidnapped 13 Japanese citizens in the 1970s and 1980s to train its spies in Japanese language and culture.

    According to an agreement reached between the DPRK's top leader Kim Jong Il and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in 2002, the DPRK allowed five of those abducted to make a temporary visit to their homeland, saying eight others were dead.

    But, reversing the aforehand agreement, Tokyo refused to returnthem and called for their family members in the DPRK to be released to Japan as well. Enditem