Komura, Rice to reaffirm cooperation ahead of 6-way nuke talks+

SINGAPORE, July 23_(Kyodo) _ Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice are set to reaffirm close cooperation in drawing up details for a mechanism to verify North Korea's account of its nuclear activities when they meet Wednesday hours ahead of six-party informal ministerial talks. Komura and Rice, both in Singapore to attend a series of ASEAN-hosted dialogues, will agree to work with their counterparts from China, North and South Koreas, and Russia for consensus on a "concrete and effective" protocol so that the verification can begin at an early date, a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said. North Korea submitted a list of its nuclear programs last month and negotiators from the six countries agreed to set up a regime for checking information on the list. However, they have yet... [read full story]