Rice says US willing to return to six-party talks

BEIJING, Oct 20 (Reuters) US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said today the United States would be willing to return to six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear programme, but that financial restrictions on Pyongyang would remain.

''The Chinese are emphasising the need for six-party talks to begin again and for the North to re-engage in the talks,'' Rice told reporters in Beijing.

''They (North Korea) urged us to be open to returning to those talks without preconditions, which for us is not difficult,'' she said after talks with Chinese officials who had just returned from the North.

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