BEIJING : Asian Diplomacy

North Korea and Japan are to hold a second round of preliminary talks Saturday aimed at ultimately establishing diplomatic relations between them.

The discussions, which occur against a backdrop of political change throughout Northeast Asia, will take place in the Chinese capital, where both countries have embassies. An earlier round of talks in Beijing had left unsettled key questions of where, when and at what level formal talks on diplomatic ties should begin.

Among other outstanding issues: North Korea’s demand that Japan pay compensation both for the period of its colonial rule in 1910-45 and for its postwar “political hostility.” Tokyo is balking at any compensation related to the postwar period.