North Korea to resume nuclear disarmament talks

SEOUL, South Korea -- South Korea said Tuesday that North Korea will resume nuclear disarmament talks on July 26 after a 13-month boycott, with diplomats from five nations stepping up pressure on Pyongyang to scrap its nuclear weapons program.\nNorth Korea agreed earlier this month to return to the talks after being assured by the top U.S. nuclear envoy that Washington recognized its sovereignty. South Korea's Foreign Ministry said the talks would convene July 26. No closing date was given.\nThe previous three rounds, which started in 2003, lasted for several days and failed to lead to any breakthroughs. South Korea is pressing for this round of the six-nation talks to be more flexible and last longer -- possibly up to a month or more.\nSouth Korea plans to "play a progressive and active role in making substantial progress at this round of six-party talks for resolution of the North Korean nuclear problem," the Foreign Ministry said.\nChina, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States have sought to convince the North to abandon its nuclear weapons. The nuclear crisis began in late 2002 when U.S. officials accused the North of running a secret uranium enrichment program.\nIn February, the North claimed publicly for the first time that it had nuclear weapons, and it has since said it has made other moves that would allow it to harvest weapons-grade plutonium from its main nuclear reactor. Experts believe the North has enough plutonium to make at least a half-dozen bombs, but it has never tested any weapons that would confirm its arsenal.\nMeanwhile, in a move sure to raise concerns in North Korea, activists were to meet Tuesday at a Washington conference on North Korean human rights that is partially funded by the U.S. government.\nPresident Bush has also decided to appoint a special envoy for North Korean human rights who was to appear at the conference, but the announcement is being delayed and his attendance canceled out of concern over the delicate nuclear negotiations, a senior U.S. official said in Washington on condition of anonymity.\nJapanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Tuesday that Tokyo is still committed to normalizing diplomatic relations with Pyongyang, despite anger over the kidnapping of Japanese citizens by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s. North Korea said Monday that it and the United States should agree to coexist and respect each other at the renewed nuclear talks.\nRussia's Foreign Ministry applauded North Korea's decision to return to the talks and said it hopes the negotiations will move forward. Russia "welcomes this decision and expresses the hope that the upcoming meeting in Beijing will bring visible progress," Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies. \nSouth Korean President Roh Moo-hyun said Monday the United States "has the final key" to a solution at the talks.\nSouth Korea revealed earlier this month it has offered massive energy aid to the North as an incentive for it to give up its nuclear weapons. The United States has said it would offer diplomatic recognition and trade to North Korea only after international inspectors verify it has completely dismantled its nuclear program.