BEIJING, Nov. 4 (Xinhuanet) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and Japan concluded their two-day bilateral talks here Friday, agreeing on further talks in near future.

    The two sides considered the talks beneficial, but diagreement remains in their one-on-one talks, according to sources with the Japanese embassy to China.

    The Japanese side viewed the abduction issue should top the agenda of the negotiation on nomalizing bilateral diplomatic relations, said a press officer from the Japanese embassy.

    The DPRK held the position that the most important issue was reparations for Japan's colonial rule of the Korean peninsula from 1910 to 1945, the press officer said on telephone.

    Yet the two sides both agreed that the improvement of relationship between Japan and the DPRK is very important, he said.

    The DPRK and Japan started their bilateral talks in the Chinese capital Thursday morning, with Song Il-Ho, vice director of the Asian Affairs Department of the DPRK Foreign Ministry and Akitaka Saiki, deputy head of the Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau as heads of respective delegations. Enditem