Seoul, July 17: The United States, North Korea and China are likely to meet for three-way talks as early as next month on the nuclear crisis, a South Korean official was quoted as saying today. The official a news agency the three-party talks would then be enlarged to include Japan and South Korea under a multilateral format proposed by the United States.
The plan was discussed when Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo met North Korean leader Kim Jong-II and other top officials in Pyongyang July 12-15, said the South Korean official who declined to be named. China joined the United States and North Korea for trilateral talks in Beijing in April. Washington is demanding an expanded format to include Japan and South Korea for further negotiations, a step North Korea has so far rejected.
China informed South Korea of the results of Dai's North Korean visit, saying that Pyongyang leaders responded positively to the proposal to hold another round of three-party talks before expanding the format, the official said. Washington has also been briefed on the outcome of the Chinese envoy's visit to Pyongyang, according to senior US officials, and US Secretary of State Colin Powell said he expected developments soon. Bureau Report