"I believe it is most beneficial for North Korea to participate in the six-nation talks," Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi told reporters at his office.

"I think the best condition is that they take part without conditions," Koizumi added.

He was commenting on Chinese state media reports that North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il denied withdrawing from the multilateral talks on his country's nuclear drive and said they could resume "at any time" if conditions were right.

Koizumi said Kim's new statement was "inevitable" as he was thinking for North Korea's benefit.

Kim's comments were the first from the reclusive leader since the Stalinist state's foreign ministry via official media announced nearly two weeks ago that it was suspending talks indefinitely and had nuclear weapons.

"If the conditions for the fourth round of six-party talks are met, the DPRK (North Korea) will return to the negotiating table at any time," Kim was quoted by Xinhua news agency as telling Chinese envoy Wang Jiarui in Pyongang.

Kim did not specify what the conditions were.

Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura said North Korea must return to the talks "without asking for conditions."

"We would welcome it if they would return to six-way talks immediately," Machimura told reporters. "We want them to take concrete actions."

Machimura said Japan was yet to confirm the remarks attributed to Kim and would be puzzled if the report was accurate.

"If things are as the (Chinese) report says, then why did North Korea issue the foreign ministry statement? It is a truly strange development," Machimura said.

China has hosted three rounds of talks with North Korea, the United States, South Korea, Japan and Russia on the nuclear crisis, which erupted in October

However, North Korea snubbed a fourth round in September, citing Washington's "hostile policy" and accusing it of trying to bring down its government.

Japan is embroiled in a separate dispute with North Korea and is threatening economic sanctions unless Pyongyang comes clean on the fate of at least eight Japanese people kidnapped to train the regime's spies.

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