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Kim Jong-il meets top China envoy N Korea 'ready for nuclear talks'
(about 6 hours later)
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has met the visiting envoy of Chinese President Hu Jintao, official media from the two countries have reported. North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has said he is willing to engage in talks on his country's controversial nuclear programme, Chinese state media said.
Mr Kim made the offer to the visiting envoy of Chinese President Hu Jintao, the Xinhua news agency said.
China has been pressing North Korea to return to international talks aimed at the nuclear disarmament of the North.China has been pressing North Korea to return to international talks aimed at the nuclear disarmament of the North.
It pulled out of multilateral talks after international condemnation of a long-range missile launch in April. The North pulled out of multilateral talks after international condemnation of a missile launch in April.
The US has said it is prepared to talk directly with North Korea in order to resume the stalled negotiations. Sanctions
The Chinese envoy, Dai Bingguo, delivered a letter to Mr Kim from Hu Jintao, North Korean state radio said. Kim Jong-il told the envoy, Dai Bingguo, that "North Korea will continue adhering towards the goal of denuclearisation... and is willing to resolve the relevant problems through bilateral and multilateral talks," Xinhua said.
China's Premier Wen Jiabao is expected to visit North Korea in October, in what would be the highest-level visit to the North since it held its second nuclear test in May. The statement follows one from Washington last week that the US was prepared to talk directly with North Korea in order to resume stalled negotiations that also take in China, South Korea, Japan and Russia.
NUCLEAR CRISIS Oct 2006 - North Korea conducts an underground nuclear testFeb 2007 - North Korea agrees to close its main nuclear reactor in exchange for fuel aidJune 2007 - North Korea shuts its main Yongbyon reactorJune 2008 - North Korea makes its long-awaited declaration of nuclear assetsOct 2008 - The US removes North Korea from its list of countries which sponsor terrorismDec 2008 - Pyongyang slows work to dismantle its nuclear programme after a US decision to suspend energy aidJan 2009 - The North says it is scrapping all military and political deals with the South, accusing it of "hostile intent"April 2009 - Pyongyang launches a rocket carrying what it says is a communications satellite25 May 2009 - North Korea conducts a second nuclear test N Korea's uranium admission Q&A: North Korea nuclear testNUCLEAR CRISIS Oct 2006 - North Korea conducts an underground nuclear testFeb 2007 - North Korea agrees to close its main nuclear reactor in exchange for fuel aidJune 2007 - North Korea shuts its main Yongbyon reactorJune 2008 - North Korea makes its long-awaited declaration of nuclear assetsOct 2008 - The US removes North Korea from its list of countries which sponsor terrorismDec 2008 - Pyongyang slows work to dismantle its nuclear programme after a US decision to suspend energy aidJan 2009 - The North says it is scrapping all military and political deals with the South, accusing it of "hostile intent"April 2009 - Pyongyang launches a rocket carrying what it says is a communications satellite25 May 2009 - North Korea conducts a second nuclear test N Korea's uranium admission Q&A: North Korea nuclear test
That test provoked a new round of sanctions against North Korea. The US has previously said it will not tolerate a nuclear North Korea.
On Wednesday, Mr Dai met North Korea's lead man on nuclear negotiations, Kang Sok-ju, accompanied by Beijing's chief envoy to the six-party talks that also include South Korea, Japan and Russia. Mr Dai has been accompanied on his trip to Pyongyang by Beijing's chief envoy to the six-party talks.
The US said last week that it was prepared to hold direct talks with North Korea to persuade it to return to the stalled six-party talks. On Wednesday, they met North Korea's lead man on nuclear negotiations, Kang Sok-ju.
No date for such talks has been announced. North Korea pulled out of the six-party talks in April after criticism of the long-range rocket launch.
The US has previously said it would not tolerate a nuclear North Korea. In May, the North said it had staged a second "successful" underground nuclear test, saying it was more powerful than a test carried out in October 2006.
In September 2005, North Korea agreed to abandon its nuclear programmes in exchange for aid in a deal decided between the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the US, beginning the six-party process. Mr Kim's statement is the latest in a series of conciliatory gestures that some analysts say is designed to relieve pressure on North Korea since the UN passed fresh sanctions in response to the nuclear test.
But since then, the talks have stalled over the failure of Pyongyang to verify the shutdown of the Yongbyon nuclear plant. But the positive noises have been mixed with more threats, including a statement earlier in September that North Korea was in the final stages of enriching uranium and was continuing to reprocess and weaponise plutonium.
In May this year, the North said it had staged a second "successful" underground nuclear test, saying it was more powerful than a test carried out in October 2006.
The North says that it remains under military threat from its historic rival, South Korea, and South Korea's allies, primarily the US.The North says that it remains under military threat from its historic rival, South Korea, and South Korea's allies, primarily the US.
North Korea is believed to have enough plutonium for at least six nuclear bombs. Earlier in September, the North said it had entered the final phase of uranium enrichment, which would give it a second way to make a nuclear bomb. But North Korea is believed to have enough plutonium for at least six nuclear bombs.