Seoul, Aug 01: North Korea has agreed to multilateral talks on its suspected development of nuclear weapons, a South Korean Foreign Ministry official said today. Lee Soo-Hyuk, assistant foreign minister, said North Korea informed the south of its decision yesterday. North Korea agreed to hold six-party talks that would include the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia, Lee told local reporters in a briefing. Foreign reporters were barred from the briefing. Lee's office confirmed his comments. Lee said he did not know when the talks would take place, but that they would likely be held in Beijing. China hosted and participated in talks in April involving us and North Korean officials. "North Korea informed our government in the early afternoon yesterday that it accepts six-party talks to discuss ways to resolve the nuclear issue," he said.

"We understand that North Korea informed the United States, Japan, China and Russia of its decision at about the same time it informed US," Lee said.

"It was a brief notification and there was no significant conditions or obstacles attached," he said.

Earlier today, South Korean Foreign Minister Yoon Young-Kwan met US ambassador Thomas Hubbard to discuss the latest developments.

North Korea had insisted for months on one-on-one talks with Washington, and its willingness to accept US-proposed multilateral talks was a concession.

Bureau Report