SANTIAGO, Chile -- Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and President Vladimir Putin agreed on Sunday to continue talks to resolve a dispute that has prevented a peace treaty.
The dispute over the fate of four Russian-held islands known as the Northern Territories in Japan and the Southern Kurils in Russia is in the spotlight ahead of Putin's planned visit to Japan next year.
The status of the four islands, seized by the Soviet Army at the end of World War II, has soured relations between Moscow and Tokyo for nearly 60 years and prevented them from signing a formal peace treaty.
In a meeting after the conclusion of a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, Koizumi told Putin that it was clear that signing a peace treaty and bolstering relations was in the "strategic interests" of both sides, a Japanese government official said.
"Prime Minister Koizumi ... strongly urged that it is the responsibility of the two leaders to tackle the historic issue of concluding a peace treaty," he said.
Putin replied by saying he thought it was necessary to resolve various issues and conclude a peace treaty, and the two leaders agreed to continue talks on various levels including mutual visits by their foreign ministers, the official said.
But the leaders did not go into details about past circumstances related to the dispute, the official said.
There was also no mention of a specific date for Putin's planned visit to Japan next year, which is the 150th anniversary of the first trade treaty between Russia and Japan, he said.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said last Sunday that Moscow would honor a 1956 agreement, which it says obliges it to return the two southernmost islands.
But Japan wants all four back and has shown no interest in a partial solution of the territorial problem.
Besides the territorial dispute, Koizumi and Putin, who met for the first time since June, also discussed North Korea.
The two leaders agreed to cooperate to make North Korea understand the importance of six-way talks over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programs and to aim for an early resumption of the six-country talks, the Japanese official said.
North Korea refused to attend talks in September, and U.S. President George W. Bush's goal at the APEC summit was to rally the allies to persuade Pyongyang to agree to a new round of six-party talks by the end of the year or early next year.
The nuclear crisis began in October 2002 when U.S. officials said North Korea admitted to working on a secret program to enrich uranium for weapons. North Korea denies having such a program.
The dispute over the fate of four Russian-held islands known as the Northern Territories in Japan and the Southern Kurils in Russia is in the spotlight ahead of Putin's planned visit to Japan next year.
The status of the four islands, seized by the Soviet Army at the end of World War II, has soured relations between Moscow and Tokyo for nearly 60 years and prevented them from signing a formal peace treaty.
In a meeting after the conclusion of a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, Koizumi told Putin that it was clear that signing a peace treaty and bolstering relations was in the "strategic interests" of both sides, a Japanese government official said.
"Prime Minister Koizumi ... strongly urged that it is the responsibility of the two leaders to tackle the historic issue of concluding a peace treaty," he said.
Putin replied by saying he thought it was necessary to resolve various issues and conclude a peace treaty, and the two leaders agreed to continue talks on various levels including mutual visits by their foreign ministers, the official said.
But the leaders did not go into details about past circumstances related to the dispute, the official said.
There was also no mention of a specific date for Putin's planned visit to Japan next year, which is the 150th anniversary of the first trade treaty between Russia and Japan, he said.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said last Sunday that Moscow would honor a 1956 agreement, which it says obliges it to return the two southernmost islands.
But Japan wants all four back and has shown no interest in a partial solution of the territorial problem.
Besides the territorial dispute, Koizumi and Putin, who met for the first time since June, also discussed North Korea.
The two leaders agreed to cooperate to make North Korea understand the importance of six-way talks over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programs and to aim for an early resumption of the six-country talks, the Japanese official said.
North Korea refused to attend talks in September, and U.S. President George W. Bush's goal at the APEC summit was to rally the allies to persuade Pyongyang to agree to a new round of six-party talks by the end of the year or early next year.
The nuclear crisis began in October 2002 when U.S. officials said North Korea admitted to working on a secret program to enrich uranium for weapons. North Korea denies having such a program.