Bilateral talks likely before Six-Party negotiations

SEOUL: The United States indicated the possibility of holding bilateral talks with the Democratic People' s Republic of Korea (DPRK) for the purpose of pushing forward the Six-Party Talks, a senior Republic of Korea official told the ROK's Yonhap News Agency yesterday.

Although there is still no decision on how the US-DPRK talks would be carried out, the five parties involved in the international nuclear disarmament forum - the US, Russia, China, Japan, and the ROK - have reached an understanding that Washington can talk bilaterally with Pyongyang ahead of the six-nation negotiations if it is helpful to restarting the six-nation process, the official said on condition of anonymity.

Observers believed it means there are some changes in Washington's position on this issue. The DPRK has been demanding direct negotiations with the US, but Washington insisted that it can engage Pyongyang only after it returns to the Six-Party Talks.