N. Korea interested in deal to halt nukes

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LONDON -- North Korea has expressed interest in a U.S.-backed proposal that it suspend its nuclear program and allow U.N. inspectors to verify the suspension as an initial step toward dismantling its nuclear capabilities, diplomats said yesterday.

During three days of talks in Berlin that ended yesterday, North Korea's chief negotiator, Kim Gye-gwan, asked his U.S. counterpart, Christopher R. Hill, what the United States would be willing to do if the North turned off its nuclear reactor. A U.S. response, if any, was not made public.

North Korea's foreign ministry today called the Hill-Kim talks "sincere and positive."

In the upbeat assessment, the communist state said the talks yielded "a certain agreement," but it declined to elaborate on the nature of the dialogue.

The ministry said the talks were held in a "sincere atmosphere." Its comments appeared in a statement released by the country's official Korean Central News Agency.

Mr. Hill flew to South Korea to begin briefing other governments involved in talks with the North. He also plans to visit China and Japan.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the United States had not changed its policy of refusing to negotiate directly with North Korea over nuclear weapons, but was trying to prepare for the next round of talks.

"We are not going outside the six-party framework to bilateralize our discussions with the North Koreans," Miss Rice said.

The plan was first presented during six-nation talks in Beijing last month, which ended in deadlock.

In Berlin this week, the North Koreans offered their own ideas about how it could be implemented, said diplomats who asked not to be named because they were not authorized to speak about the closed-door sessions.