6-way chief delegates meeting unlikely before G-8 summit: Komura

TOKYO, July 2 Kyodo - Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura indicated on Tuesday it is unlikely that chief delegates to the six-party talks on North Korea's denuclearization will meet before next Monday, when the three-day Group of Eight nations summit will begin.

''Nothing concrete has been decided so there really isn't much for me to say.
But on whether it will be held prior to the (G-8) summit, I don't think the
possibility is too high,'' Komura said in a news conference in response to a reporter's question.

A source close to the negotiations said Sunday that planning is under way for
the chief delegates from North and South Korea, China, Japan, Russia and the
United States to meet in the latter half of next week.

The talks are expected to focus on ways of verifying the contents of North
Korea's declaration last week of details on its nuclear activities, half a year
after the original deadline under a six-nation agreement.

''We must verify whether this declaration is a meaningful declaration,'' Komura
said, reiterating that the final goal of the six-party talks is for North Korea
to completely abandon its nuclear weapons and abolish its nuclear programs.

The G-8 summit, involving leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy,
Japan, Russia and the United States, will be held in Japan's Hokkaido.
==Kyodo