US ready for fresh round of talks with N Korea

Ambassador Thomas Hubbard said Washington wanted talks "as soon as possible" to follow up on April's opening round of negotiations in Beijing which he described as a useful first step.

He said there was no timetable for further talks which would depend on whether North Korea would agree to a multilateral framework.

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"We believe that for these talks to be successful they need to include at a minimum Japan, South Korea as well as China. But we don't have a timetable for such talks," he told journalists.

North Korea has been holding out for one-on-one talks with the United States while Washington insists that key regional players should sit at the table to resolve the stand-off.

In Tokyo Tuesday, US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage and Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Yukio Takeuchi agreed that the participation of Japan and South Korea would be "indispensable" to nuclear talks with North Korea.

North Korea refused to admit Japan and South Korea to the Beijing talks attended by China, North Korea and the United States.

Armitage said in Japan he saw "fair" prospects for multilateral talks involving Japan and South Korea to be held "in the near future."