US allies to discuss N Korea talks

US allies to discuss N Korea talks

N Korea has agreed to sit down with the US and China

Japanese, South Korean and US officials are due to meet in Washington, ahead of landmark talks next week on Pyongyang's suspected nuclear weapons programme.

The US Assistant Secretary of State, James Kelly, is said to be hosting Friday's meeting, held as a precursor to the talks between China, North Korea and US in Beijing.

Japan and South Korea have both been excluded from the Beijing talks, as part of a compromise plan to bring Pyongyang to the negotiating table.

Last week, North Korea said it was willing to abandon its insistence on bilateral talks and accept the Americans' demand for multilateral discussions, a decision which paved the way for the three-way talks hosted by China.

If we insist on taking part in the talks belatedly, it would only make the matter more complicated

S Korean President Roh Moo-hyun

Analysis: N Korea's move

Despite being excluded, both Tokyo and Seoul have welcomed the possibility of negotiations with Pyongyang, calling them an important step towards a peaceful solution to the North Korean issue.

The crisis began in October, when Mr Kelly said North Korea had admitted to a clandestine nuclear weapons programme, leading to the current stand-off.

As well as hosting Friday's meeting in Washington, Mr Kelly is also due to represent the US at the talks in Beijing.

'No preconditions'

Media reports, quoting unnamed US officials, said the Beijing talks were likely to last three days, beginning on 23 April.

In an American television interview, US Secretary of State Colin Powell said Washington approached the talks "with no conditions or preconditions".

NUCLEAR STAND-OFF

Oct 2002 - US says N Korea "admits" secret nuclear programme

Nov 2002 - US-led decision to halt oil shipments to N Korea

Dec 2002 - N Korea expels two nuclear watchdog's inspectors

Jan 2003 - N Korea says it is withdrawing from Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty

Feb 2003 - N Korea "restarts" Yongbyon nuclear plant

Apr 2003 - N Korea ends insistence on direct talks with US

Crisis timeline

It is "an opportunity to lower tensions... and I hope the North Koreans approach this meeting in that sphere," he said.

Some analysts see Pyongyang's willingness for discussions involving another country as well as the US as a vindication of America's insistence on a multilateral format.

But others see it as a climb-down for the Bush administration, because of the exclusion of South Korea and Japan - some of America's key regional allies.

Washington, Seoul and Tokyo all insist that the Beijing talks are preliminary in nature, and that South Korea and Japan may join the dialogue at a later date.

"There are not going to be any substantive discussions until this conference expands to include at least South Korea and Japan," a senior US official told Reuters news agency.

South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun has been heavily criticised domestically for Seoul's exclusion from next week's talks.

After taking office in February, President Roh pledged that Seoul would play a key role in resolving the crisis with its northern neighbour.

But on Thursday, Mr Roh insisted that what was important was "not the format but the results".

But while he acknowledged that some South Koreans were unhappy at Seoul's exclusion he said that "if we insist on taking part in the talks belatedly, it would only make the matter more complicated".