Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said in Tokyo Thursday that Japan will seek another round of talks with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Friday.

"It hasn't ended yet. We still have tomorrow," Kyodo News quoted Koizumi as saying.

Japan and the DPRK failed to achieve progress when their delegates met earlier Thursday on the sidelines of the six-party three-day talks to end Friday in Beijing.

Japan reportedly asked the DPRK to free family members of five Japanese abductees who have remained in Japan after a visit last October, while the DPRK delegates reportedly accused Japan of providing shelter for the five people.

The DPRK admitted at a summit meeting last September that it had abducted 13 Japanese from the late 1970s to early 1980s.
 
(Xinhua News Agency August 29, 2003)