Beijing, May 25: China today called for dialogue to solve the North Korean nuclear crisis, reacting to a statement by Pyongyang insisting on a bilateral meeting with the United States before it would consider multilateral talks. "It is our consistent view that dialogue should be encouraged for the settlement of the North Korean nuclear question through diplomatic means," a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said. North Korea yesterday said that it would consider five-party talks - including China, South Korea and Japan in meetings with the United States - only after a bilateral meeting between Pyongyang and Washington. In a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency, North Korea said the "format of talks does not present itself as an essential issue if the US is truly willing to settle the problem." "It is the DPRK's (North Korea) stand that the DPRK-US talks should be held first and they may be followed by the US-proposed multilateral talks as there are issues to be settled between the DPRK and the US," it said.

The North Korean statement followed a joint pledge by US President George W Bush and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi never to bow to the North Korean "blackmail" over the nuclear impasse.

"We will not settle for anything less than the complete, verifiable and irreversible elimination of North Korea's nuclear weapons programme," Bush said after meeting Koizumi at his Texas ranch on Friday.

Bureau Report