Six-nations talks begin on N. Korea nuclear row

After months of diplomacy, the United States, North Korea and four other countries convened an extraordinary six-way meeting today to resolve a dispute over the North’s nuclear programme that has alarmed the entire region.

Around a vast hexagonal table behind the high brick walls of Beijing’s state guest house of China, the host country and Pyongyang’s only remaining major ally, diplomats shook hands and crisply got down to business.