Kenichiro Sasae Quotations

We have presented our plan and agreed to bring back the proposal to our respective government for consideration.

We are talking about the possibility of a recess. We are going to have another meeting tomorrow.

shows its determination in detail regarding dismantlement of their nuclear programs.

No breakthrough has been achieved at this point. The prospects are not bright. We are not satisfied with the situation.

If we can establish a specific goal of between six to nine months for having North Korea abandon its nuclear weapons program and rejoin the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, we will be able to establish a more forward-looking implementation pace for achieving the proposals of the entire joint statement.

I believe there is a possibility of reaching an agreement. Talks are in the direction of advancing now more than they were Sunday.

I believe there is a chance of reaching an agreement. We don't know whether there has been progress until we have a meeting.

China's attitude of trying to progress with cooperation is one thing, and whether this attitude is reflected in the actual negotiation is another.

China is playing a significant role in making a breakthrough in this kind of situation and I expect China to continue to play this role.

Overall, they have an intention to firmly implement the agreement. But the question is how they will do that in a concrete way and no agreement has been reached on that score.

The abduction issue is one of the priorities we have to address through bilateral talks or taking the case to the six-party talks.

We proposed our idea of joint development and demanded China to halt operations and provide information on gas and oil fields.

We hope that the Chinese side will present a constructive and positive view. I think that through this, we will be able to see the Chinese side's seriousness toward this issue.

We have already presented our position, and are expecting to hear what the Chinese side thinks about this.

We are not necessarily satisfied, ... working up to the last minute.

There has been no breakthrough to this point, and the prospect is not bright.

There is still a chance of reaching an agreement.

We are approaching the final stage. We are doing our most to reach an agreement, but much depends on North Korea's attitude.

The result of this round of talks will depend on whether or not North Korea can actually commit itself to a strategic decision to abandon all of its nuclear arms and nuclear programs,

The talks are deadlocked. The differences between positions remain large and there are no prospects of agreement.

North Korea should wipe out suspicions it is playing for time,

It will be an important day which will make-or-break this round,

I told Kim about the (DNA) results. I asked North Korea to deal with this sincerely.

The issue is how quickly we can resolve the nuclear dispute, and it is not desirable to place various obstacles before that.

The issue is an important one that will serve as a litmus test for showing whether cooperation between Japan and China can work. I strongly hope to achieve results.

I don't think that we can see the prospects for reaching an agreement yet.

And I believe this issue remains unchanged as the core of the matter.

Agreeing a common document does not mean that the solution to our problems has been found.

The central aim of the talks is to come up with specific measures to ensure that North Korea keep its promise to give up its nuclear weapons.

All the participants concerned have some points that they are unsatisfied with. We are not necessarily satisfied.