Azimuthally correlated wire core ablation was compared for closely spaced versus widely spaced wires in a 1 MA Z-pinch. X-ray point-projection diagnostics revealed that 240 mu m spaced wires exhibited a correlation coefficient approaching unity in both real space and in k-space. This correlated ablation between wires at a fixed axial location is believed to occur due to an enhanced, localized Joule heating. Wires separated by 2.47 mm or greater were uncorrelated in real space, but correlated in k-space, indicating the ablation structure between wires was shifted in phase. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3243917]