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US says it's ready to meet one-on-one with Pyongyang

The US is willing to hold a bilateral meeting with North Korea even before six-nation nuclear disarmament talks resume, a senior official said yesterday, in a concession aimed at restarting the stalled dialogue.

US ambassador to South Korea Alexander Vershbow said that a one-on-one meeting could take place if the North were to make a commitment to return to the multinational forum on scrapping its nuclear program.

Washington's position previously was that the North had to actually return to the six-nation talks before any bilateral meeting.

Vershbow's comments come amid speculation that the North may be preparing for a nuclear weapons test. Former US deputy secretary of state Richard Armitage said here on Monday there was an even chance of a test this year.

"We are open to a new approach, as I said last week," Vershbow said, confirming his reported remarks that top US nuclear negotiator Christopher Hill could meet the North Koreans even before the stalled disarmament talks resume.

"Assistant Secretary Hill is open to a bilateral meeting with his North Korean counterpart if Pyongyang commits to return to six-party talks," Vershbow told lawmakers from South Korea's ruling party.

The US, the two Koreas, China, Russia and Japan signed a joint statement in September last year under which the North would abandon its nuclear program in return for energy and economic aid, eventual diplomatic benefits and security guarantees.

But two months later, North Korea boycotted the forum in protest over US sanctions on a Macau bank which allegedly helped it pass counterfeit US dollars and launder funds.

Seoul's top nuclear negotiator Chun Yung-woo and Hill met in New York last week to follow up on a summit accord between their presidents to push for "a common and broad approach" to reviving the six-way disarmament forum.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that she would travel to Asia in the next six weeks to see whether to make "one last push" to persuade the North to return to the talks.

Vershbow said that Washington is ready to discuss how to implement the one-year-old accord.
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