Peaceful N Korea transition - Clinton

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called for a 'peaceful and stable' transition in North Korea and says the United States wants better relations with its people after leader Kim Jong-il's death.

'We both share a common interest in a peaceful and stable transition in North Korea as well as ensuring regional peace and stability,' Clinton said after talks with Japan's Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba on Monday.

'We reiterate our hope for improved relations with the people of North Korea and remain deeply concerned about their well-being,' she said.

Clinton said that the United States has also been in 'close touch' with South Korea along with China and Russia, which were all involved in now-moribund denuclearisation talks with North Korea.

Gemba - whose visit was scheduled before the shock announcement of Kim's death - agreed with the US stance on North Korea and urged renewed efforts over the cases of Japanese abducted by the communist regime.

'We share the recognition that it is important to make sure that the latest events would not negatively affect the peace and stability on the Korean peninsula,' Gemba said.

'Due to the most recent developments, we are seeing an increasing level of interest in and attention to how the process of dealing with the abduction issue develops in Japan,' he said.

'I expressed my gratitude to the consistent support extended by the United States for raising the abduction issue every time during the US-North Korea dialogue,' he said.

Kim Jong-il admitted during a landmark 2002 summit with then-prime minister Junichiro Koizumi that North Korea had abducted 13 Japanese civilians in the 1970s and 1980s to train the regime's spies in Japanese language and culture.

North Korea allowed five to return home along with their spouses and offspring but said that others were dead. The abductions have become a major issue for Japan, which believes that victims remain alive and under wraps.