During a meeting on the sidelines of the US-hosted G8 summit, Koizumi contrasted his September 2003 meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il to another in May 2004, the official told reporters on condition of anonymity.

Koizumi "emphasized that he told Kim Jong-Il to think carefully about the benefits North Korea could receive" for giving up its nuclear program, such as economic and energy aid as well as security assurances, the official said.

Koizumi told Bush that he "thought he detected, in Kim Jong-Il, a bit more of a recognition that there might be advantages to giving up nuclear weapons, but it was mostly atmospherics," the official said.

During Koizumi's May trip to Pyongyang, Kim Jong-Il "apparently said that North Korea didn't want nuclear weapons, a formulation that from time to time comes out of Pyongyang, usually accompanied by a statement saying 'but we have to because of the American hostile policy,'" the official said.

"In this case, the fact that it was Kim Jong-Il was significant," the official said.

Bush and Koizumi agree that "the best way to explore and see" whether North Korea is serious about giving up its nuclear programs is the next round of six-party talks aimed at defusing the crisis, the official said.

"The six-party talk are the right process ... to make it very clear that North Korea will not face a good future if it refuses to give up its nuclear weapons," the official said.

The six nations -- China, Japan, North and South Korea, Russia and the United States -- have met twice on the nuclear crisis in the Chinese capital, in August last year and in February.

The second round of talks ended with agreements to set up a preparatory working group and hold a third round by the end of June.

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