US to meet with North Korea in bid to end crisis

AMERICAN and North Korean officials are to meet in Beijing to discuss North Korea's nuclear programme, the source of rising tensions in the region.

According to US officials, the meeting will take place next week and the Chinese government will also participate. The meeting will be the first direct, high-level talks between Washington and Pyongyang since the crisis over North Korea's nuclear programme erupted in October.

North Korea had previously insisted on one-to-one talks with the United States, but last week hinted it was ready to drop that condition.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell, citing conciliatory statements by North Korea, said "a lot of pieces have come together" in his quest for multilateral discussions on Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programme.

Mr Powell told a news conference that the quick military success in Iraq may have influenced North Korea's thinking on opening diplomatic discussions. While saying he was not prepared to make any announcements, Mr Powell said he was following up the North Korean statement through diplomatic channels.

He said it was "absolutely clear" discussions with North Korea must encompass "the views and thoughts of all the neighbours in the region".

At a minimum, Mr Powell has wanted future talks to include the two Koreas, Japan, China and Russia as well as the US. Until now, the North Koreans had ruled out any talks except one-on-one meetings with the US. South Korea and Japan key US allies in dealings with the North will not take part in the talks. But both countries' leaders nevertheless welcomed news of the development.

South Korean Foreign Minister Yoon Young-kwan stressed that both the US and China had promised that Seoul would eventually join the talks.

Seoul abstained from the UN resolution on North Korea, which was voted on in Geneva. As North Korea sees it, the moral of Iraq is that even if you play along and let inspectors in, that will not stop the US invading anyway. The UN Commission on Human Rights voted by 28 to 10, with 14 abstentions, in favour of a resolution accusing Pyongyang of widespread rights violations, including torture and public executions. North Korea dismissed the charges.