Washington, Apr 22: The United States today formally announced that it would take part in a multilateral dialogue on the issue of North Korea's nuclear weapons programme in Beijing from tomorrow. In a statement here, State department spokesman Richard Boucher said the "multilateral talks involving the United States, China and North Korea" will be held from April 23 to April 25 in Beijing.
The US delegation in the talks will be headed by assistant secretary of State for east Asian and Pacific affairs James Kelly, who arrived in Beijing today.
"We intend to conduct serious talks on the situation created by North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons," Boucher said, adding "it is a matter of great concern to the entire international community, and especially to countries in the region, all of whom are interested in participating directly in the talks."
He said the US believes the inclusion of others in multilateral talks, South Korea and Japan above all, "would be essential for reaching agreement on substantive issues".
"We appreciate china's efforts to achieve the international community's shared goal of a peaceful and stable Korean peninsula free of nuclear weapons," he said.
The North Korean delegation will be headed by deputy director general Li Gun from the American Affairs Bureau of ministry of foreign affairs, who has also arrived in Beijing.
Earlier today, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao confirmed the holding of the three-way dialogue and said the Chinese side would be led by director general of the Asian department Fu Ying. Bureau Report