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Pyongyang proposes direct military talks with US

North Korea yesterday called for military talks with the US, as UN atomic inspectors prepared to return to Pyongyang to supervise the shutdown of its nuclear program.

But with inspectors on the eve of returning to check on North Korea's nuclear facilities for the first time in five years, the North also warned that a landmark disarmament deal could still be undone by US "threats."

The secretive regime, which tested an atomic bomb for the first time last year, has repeatedly said it needs nuclear weapons to fend off a US attack -- and called for talks with its long-time foe ahead of the pending UN visit.

"The Korean People's Army side proposes having talks between the DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea] and US militaries to be attended by a UN representative," the North's armed forces said in a statement on the official KCNA news agency.

The topic, it said, would be "issues related to ensuring the peace and security on the Korean peninsula."

The six-nation deal reached in February, under which the North would scrap its nuclear weapons programs, envisages talks on a treaty formally ending the 1950 to 1953 Korean War.

Washington has expressed willingness for such talks if the North scraps all its nuclear programs and weaponry.

The first step in the deal -- the closure of Yongbyon reactor, which produces raw material for bomb-making plutonium -- is expected within days.

An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) monitoring team, which arrived in Beijing yesterday en route to Pyongyang today, was optimistic it would take place.

"With the kind of help we have got from the DPRK in the last few weeks, we think we will do our job in a successful way," team leader Adel Tolba said.

The Soviet-era reactor is at the heart of the North's nuclear program, which culminated in its first atomic weapons test last October.

The North has said it will consider closing Yongbyon as soon as it receives a first shipment of fuel oil -- compensation for the shutdown under the February pact -- from South Korea. A tanker is scheduled to arrive early today.

The two Koreas, the US, China, Russia and Japan will resume talks on Wednesday to discuss steps towards full denuclearization after Yongbyon is shut down.

Analysts said the military's statement, which included typically harsh language about the US and the warning that the deal could be scuppered, would not affect that meeting.

They said it was aimed instead at gaining the upper hand in future negotiations on a peace pact.

"This proposal is aimed at taking the initiative in starting talks on the issue of replacing the armistice with a peace system, which should come in parallel with progress in efforts to resolve the nuclear issue," said Kim Keun-sik, of Seoul's University of North Korean Studies.

"This is not going to impose any obstacle to the six-party talks," he said.

Baek Seung-joo of the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses said the North was "seeking to gain the upper hand" in future talks on establishing a peace system on the Korean Peninsula.

"But this proposal will have no serious impact on the six-party process," he said.
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