3-way talks on DPRK nukes likely in Sept

The mainstream Korea Times quoted anonymous sources as saying an announcement would be made this week on the three-country talks to be held on September 6 in the Chinese capital, Beijing.

A South Korean government official said Seoul was unaware of any schedule for a second round of nuclear talks following a meeting of US, North Korean and Chinese officials in April in Beijing.

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The Korea Times said an expanded meeting involving South Korea and Japan, two countries that would be directly threatened by a North Korean nuclear arsenal, would follow the three-way talks.

China has floated new talks formats as a way of bridging the gap between North Korea's demand for bilateral talks with the United States and the US insistence that only a multilateral approach can make any deal with North Korea stick.

South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun, speaking to reporters after talks on Sunday with British Prime Minister Tony Blair that were dominated by North Korea, struck a hopeful note on the prospects for a diplomatic solution of the nine-month-old impasse.

"Everybody is emphasising the peaceful resolution of this matter," Roh said through an interpreter. "I think all of the related parties are converging on this idea."