MOSCOW, June 1 (RIA Novosti) - North Korea has invited the head of an American delegation at stalled six-party negotiations aimed at resolving tensions around its nuclear program to Pyongyang for talks, a Korean news agency reported.
"If the United States really accepts political solutions on implementation of the joint declaration [adopted last year on halting North Korea's nuclear program], then we again invite the head of the American delegation at six-way talks to visit Pyongyang," an official North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman was quoted by KCNA as saying.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill had previously expressed, although with certain reservations, his readiness to visit North Korea if it would help resume the dialog.
North Korea, which does not have diplomatic relations with the U.S., withdrew from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 2003, and in February 2005 announced it had nuclear weapons.
The six-party negotiations, involving Russia, North and South Korea, the United States, China, and Japan, began in August 2003, with the aim being to persuade North Korea to abandon development of nuclear weapons in return for economic and diplomatic incentives.
At the last round of talks in September 2005, North Korea agreed to abandon its nuclear program in exchange for aid and security guarantees, but later refused to rejoin the talks until Washington lifted financial sanctions imposed over its alleged involvement in counterfeiting and other illegal activities.
