N Korea examining the idea of restarting negotiations

MOSCOW, Dec 8: Participants in six-way talks on North Korea are examining the idea of restarting the negotiations this month, Itar-Tass news agency quoted ''a well informed diplomatic source'' as saying today.

''A proposal on holding the new round in Beijing in the second half of this month is being considered,'' the unnamed source told Tass without specifying who proposed the meeting.

In a separate despatch datelined Tokyo, Tass quoted ''informed sources in the Japanese capital'' as saying the talks could restart on December 16.

Talks, aimed at persuading Pyongyang to give up its military nuclear programme, have been stalled since North Korea walked out a year ago.

Pyongyang drew international condemnation when it conducted a nuclear test on October 9.

It agreed to return to the talks -- which involve North and South Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Russia -- but no date has been set for their resumption.

On Wednesday, Interfax news agency quoted a North Korean diplomatic source as saying the talks could not take place in December because of ''unacceptable'' US conditions.

Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Alexeyev said earlier this week there was little hope of restarting the talks before next year because of the coming Christmas holidays.

Reuters