Japan's prime minister Junichiro Koizumi will visit South Korea's Cheju Island on Wednesday for talks with President Roh Moo Hyun, with the impasse over DPRK's nuclear program as the main focus of the talks, Japanese government officials said Monday.

Koizumi is expected to discuss with Roh further cooperation over DPRK and other lingering issues, and appeal for a future-oriented bilateral relationship, according to the officials.

Koizumi will leave Tokyo's Haneda airport on Wednesday afternoon and return to Japan Thursday afternoon. A joint press conference is scheduled for Wednesday evening.

He is expected to ask Roh about Seoul's DPRK policy, as its position is viewed as having recently softened, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda earlier told reporters.

Multinational efforts have been underway to press for the North's freeze on its nuclear development programs, in return for security assurances as well as energy assistance. China, Japan, DPRK, Russia, South Korea and the United States have agreed to hold their fourth round of talks in Beijing by the end of September.

Koizumi and Roh are also likely to focus on issues including the disputed Takeshima Island, which both have claimed, as well as a soured bilateral relationship due to Koizumi's visits to Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, which is regarded by South Korea and China as a symbol of Japan's militarist past.

Source: Agencies