US Congressman Says N.Korea May Be Ready to Talk

[Rose Siding]

BEIJING (Reuters) - A senior U.S. congressman has urged leaders of North Korea to re-engage in six-party discussions on its nuclear programs and ended a visit saying on Tuesday he was optimistic that Pyongyang was ready to talk.

Representative Tom Lantos, the ranking Democrat on the House International Affairs Committee, was the first member of Congress to visit the reclusive state since May 2003 and since the White House stopped lawmakers from visiting North Korea last year.

While in Pyongyang, Lantos held up Libya as an example for North Korea to follow, promising to strive for normalisation of relations with the United States if the North discarded its ambition to possess nuclear arms.

North Korean officials told Lantos they supported continuing the talks, but were waiting to see the shape of the second administration of President Bush before making a commitment, restating the North's position since Bush was re-elected in early November.
...
Lantos's trip, and the visit to North Korea of a separate group of U.S. lawmakers led by Republican Curt Weldon on Tuesday, are not part of official efforts to dismantle the North's nuclear programs.

But the visits do have White House support and signal a fresh effort to restart the six-party process since Bush's re-election.

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=politicsNews&storyID=7290731&src=rss/ElectionCoverage

[David__77]

1. DUH! It's the US that won't talk, not Korea.

The US refuses bilateral talks, trying to shunt the issue onto China and others. This is ridiculous. Why should north Korea even be interested in such a thing when the US won't even renounce aggression?