Envoys meet in effort to resume North Korea nuclear weapons talks

SHANGHAI, China -- Envoys from the United States, China, Japan and South Korea discussed Thursday how to restart formal talks on ending North Korea's nuclear weapons program, officials said, but there was no indication that a Pyongyang representative attended.

A North Korean official visiting South Africa blamed the United States for a breakdown in the talks and reiterated the government's anger at being branded an outpost of tyranny.

Yang Hyong Sop, vice president of North Korea's parliament, said it was now up to the United States to create "appropriate conditions" for dialogue, the South African Press Association reported. "Figuratively speaking, the ball is in the U.S.' court," he was quoted as saying after talks Thursday with South Africa's Deputy President Jacob Zuma.

In Shanghai, U.S. envoy Joseph DeTrani and Chinese Foreign Ministry officials were among those attending the meetings, officials said. Scholars and experts on the region also were there.

"We believe this meeting will nurture new opinions and approaches for promoting the resumption of the six-party talks," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao, at a briefing in Beijing.

Those talks have been stalled by North Korea's refusal to attend. Since 2003, Beijing has hosted three rounds of talks with the United States, Japan, the two Koreas and Russia to discuss ways to dismantle the North's nuclear weapons program. Pyongyang canceled a planned fourth round in September.

North Korea has demanded more aid and a peace treaty with Washington in exchange for abandoning nuclear arms development.

China, as North Korea's last major ally, has been trying to bring the reclusive country back to negotiations. The effort has taken on greater urgency since Pyongyang's unconfirmed declaration in February that it has nuclear weapons.

"At present, the six-party talks have stalled and encountered some problems," Liu said. "We hope the various sides will work vigorously and demonstrate flexibility in order to reopen the six-party talks."

The issue is expected to be a key topic when Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visits Beijing on Sunday and Monday.

The U.S. Consulate in Shanghai described Thursday's discussions as a series of workshops aimed at "moving forward with the six-party talks," but it said DeTrani would not be delivering prepared remarks.

DeTrani has helped lead efforts to convince North Korea to return to talks. U.S officials met at least twice with North Korean officials in New York in December to tell them the United States was ready to resume nuclear negotiations and wanted to resolve the issue diplomatically.

Liu would not say which Chinese officials were at the conference, describing it as a "non-governmental meeting" with participants attending "in their own private capacity."

Security guards prevented journalists from approaching participants.

The North Korean nuclear crisis began in late 2002 when U.S. officials said Pyongyang told them it had revived a program to acquire nuclear weapons. Last year, North Korea pulled out of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.