Non-Subscriber Extract
North Korea considers resuming negotiations
31 July 2009
North Korean spokesman Ri Hung-sik states the country will not re-enter six-party talks. (PA)
On 27 July, North Korea stated it would consider resuming negotiations, but appeared to veto the idea of a return to the six-party format that China has hosted since August 2003.
It ended with the statement that there is a "reserved and specific form of dialogue that can address the current situation".
This final sentence appears to suggest North Korea is willing to negotiate its nuclear programme, but only in direct bilateral talks with the United States, or trilateral talks with China.
Pyongyang believes its primary foreign policy goal of a security guarantee from Washington is best pursued bilaterally.