Brightening prospects for ending a nuclear stalemate, North Korea said it will consider US President George W. Bush's offer of written security assurances in return for dismantling its nuclear weapons program.
It was an about-face by North Korea, which earlier called the offer "laughable" and "not worth considering."
Still, the abrupt shift raised hope of resuming six-nation talks aimed at ending the year-long standoff. US officials believe Pyongyang already has one or two atomic bombs and can yield several more bombs within months from its nuclear programs.
North Korea has already informed the US.officials of its new intentions through its diplomats at the UN, an unnamed spokesman for Pyongyang's Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.
The US administration responded to North Korea's latest comment with guarded optimism.
"We're looking at the message, and we hope North Korea will return to the Beijing six-party talks," said Jimmy Orr, a presidential spokesman.
Separately, the Japanese government said North Korea may have test-fired a short-range missile off its eastern coast on Saturday. It was the third suspected missile launch by Pyongyang in a week.
A US official said on condition of anonymity that the North Koreans normally do such testing in three stages, and this one appeared to have been previously scheduled.
During a summit of Asia-Pacific leaders last week in Thailand, Bush proposed that the US, Russia, South Korea, Japan and China -- participants in the first round of six-nation talks held in Beijing in August -- offer written assurances that the North will not be attacked if Pyongyang promises to dismantle its nuclear program.
"We are ready to consider Bush's remarks on the `written assurances of nonaggression' if they are based on the intention to coexist with the [North]" and offer "simultaneous actions," the North Korean spokesman said.
The comments were carried by Pyongyang's official KCNA news agency.
North Korea has previously said that "simultaneous actions" include economic and humanitarian aid from the US, opening diplomatic ties, and building a nuclear power plant. It has also said it must include a nonaggression treaty -- something the Bush administration has refused.
In exchange, North Korea has said it would declare its willingness to give up nuclear development, allow nuclear inspections, give up missiles exports and finally dismantle its nuclear weapons facilities.
The North Korean spokesman said it was "premature" to talk about whether his country would return to six-nation talks. Pyongyang must first confirm that the US will take "simultaneous actions" toward ending the nuclear crisis, he said.
"Simple and clear is our request," the North Korean spokesman said. "What we want is for both sides to drop guns and establish normal state relationship to coexist peacefully."
South Korea welcomed the North's comments.
"This is a positive development ahead of future six-party talks," said Ban Ki-moon, President Roh Moo-hyun's adviser on diplomatic affairs, according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency.
The first round of six-nation talks in Beijing ended without agreement on a new round, as the US and North Korea failed to narrow their differences.
Wu Bangguo, head of China's legislature and the Communist Party's No. 2 man, will travel to Pyongyang next week to encourage North Korea to return to the talks.
In recent weeks, North Korea has added urgency to the crisis by declaring that it is using plutonium extracted from its 8,000 spent nuclear fuel rods to build new atomic bombs, besides the one or two it is already believed to possess. Last week, it threatened to test a bomb.
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