N Korea crisis talks back on after a year

BEIJING - Six-party talks aimed at ending the crisis over North Korea's nuclear ambitions resumed today after a year's hiatus.

As the negotiations began, host China appealed for flexibility and US reassurances of Pyongyang's sovereignty.

While few expect a breakthrough, the atmosphere in the run-up to the fourth round of talks between the two Koreas, the United States, Russia, Japan and China has been upbeat.

The United States held a rare one-on-one meeting with North Korea lasting over an hour on Monday, raising hopes of a less confrontational approach to discussions which have dragged on for nearly three years.

"I hope relevant sides ... can take a flexible and pragmatic attitude in the talks, respect each other, engage in dialogue on an equal basis and have full consultations," Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing said as the talks opened.

Three previous rounds ended without progress and Japanese top negotiator Kenichiro Sasae warned that failure to gain concrete results this time would call the credibility of the talks into question.

Stalemate in Beijing might prompt Washington to take the issue to the United Nations and prompt debate on possible sanctions, which China opposes and North Korea has warned would trigger conflict.

But the early meeting between US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill and North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan, and faint progress at weekend talks between the two Koreas, offered a buoyant atmosphere.

The upbeat mood extended into Tuesday's opening statements. Hill said the United States viewed North Korea as a sovereign nation and had no intention of attacking it.

"Opening talks is important. But what's more important is to achieve actual progress such as denuclearisation," the North's Kim said at the opening.

"Our delegation is fully ready for this and we believe other parties including the United States are also ready for it." Delegates said there was a consensus not to set an end-date to the session, and a US official said they would try to reach some consensus on "agreed points" for future discussion.

North Korea, an erratic and reclusive Communist state which remains technically at war with Washington, has spent decades trying to gain its attention and respect, often through brinkmanship.

The crisis erupted in October 2002 when US officials accused North Korea -- which US President George Bush had branded part of an axis of evil alongside Iran and pre-war Iraq -- of pursuing a clandestine nuclear weapons programme.

The North quickly expelled International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors and withdrew from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Early this year Pyongyang announced it possessed nuclear weapons, regularly demanded Washington drop its "hostile policy" and called for economic aid, security guarantees and diplomatic recognition in return for scrapping them.

- REUTERS