Li discussed the Nkorean issue with Powell and Ivanov over phone

WASHINGTON, August 23 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – While asserting it would not offer North Korea "rewards" for halting its nuclear program, Washington did not rule out the idea of others the Stalinist country such incentives.

The U.S. delegation does not expect quick results from the six-party talks in Beijing starting Wednesday, but will press for the full, verifiable and irreversible end to Pyongyang's nuclear arms program, a senior State Department official said Friday, August 22.

It will not go into the talks with "some package of rewards in anticipation of progress," the official said on condition of anonymity, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

President George W. Bush has insisted he will not fall prey to what he sees as nuclear "blackmail" by North Korea, arguing it should not expect economic and political rewards for breaking a 1994 anti-nuclear pledge with Washington.

But the official did not categorically rule out the idea that another party to the talks - also including Russia, China, South Korea and Japan - could offer Pyongyang some inducements to halt nuclear development.

"There could be inducements that would really trouble us, there could be suggestions to the North Koreans that would be very positive, things that help North Korea move in positive directions whether it be in the nuclear area or other area.

"What is an inducement is in the eye of the beholder," the official said, stressing that a decision by Pyongyang to halt nuclear weapons production could "open the door" to a substantially different relationship with the United States.

Bush said last year, after a tortuous review of U.S. North Korea policy, that he was ready to offer a "bold" package of economic and political steps to Pyongyang -- if it satisfied U.S. concerns on proliferation, nuclear development, human rights and the posture of its 1.1 million strong armed forces.

No Hope For Quick Progress

U.S. officials Friday played down any hope of fast progress in the crisis which erupted last October, when Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly, who will lead the U.S. side in Beijing, accused North Korea of pursuing a banned nuclear weapons program.

"I don't look at this first meeting as very likely to produce such a resolution," said the senior official.

"These are first talks and classic preliminaries have not be held and so we don't expect to reach some kind of agreement," he added.

"The process is now beginning ... and it is likely to be a long one. There is no preordained scheduled for success of failure in these talks."

North Korea had previously demanded one-on-one talks with Washington to solve the crisis.

The official said such a meeting would not take place - but hinted at some flexibility on bilateral contacts in the context of a six-way format.

"We are ready for a full discussion across and around the table," the official said, adding that there would be ample opportunity for U.S. officials to make direct points to their North Korean counterparts.

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell meanwhile spoke to Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing ahead of the talks.

"China has been instrumental in the efforts to achieve a diplomatic resolution and the Chinese have worked hard to bring North Korea to the six-party talks," the official said on condition of anonymity.

"They are graciously acting as both hosts and full participants.

"This reflects not only China's commitment to finding a peaceful solution to the nuclear challenge but highlights a new era of U.S.-China cooperation on major international issues."

China, seen as one of the few states with any influence with the isolated Stalinist state has carried out months of painstaking diplomacy to bring all the parties together.

It is credited with U.S. officials and analysts with forcing Pyongyang to accept the format for six-party talks on the crisis after previously demanding on one-on-one dialogue with the United States.

Its cooperation with Washington on North Korea, and in the U.S.-led campaign against global terrorism followed a rocky start to relations with Beijing by the Bush White House.

"Significant opportunity"

China said Saturday, August 23, that the crucial six-party talks could be a significant opportunity for solving the crisis on the peninsula.

Li, who has been engaged in busy diplomacy, said the gathering represented "a significant opportunity" for the issue to be resolved through dialogue, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

He also has had a telephone conversation with his Russian counterpart Igor Ivanov and has met Choe Jin Su, North Korea's ambassador to China, according to the agency.

"China is willing to join hands with the parties involved to push forward the talks and contribute to peacefully solving the nuclear issue and maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in the region as a whole," Xinhua said, quoting Li.

Meanwhile, Zhao Qizheng, China's minister of the State Council Information Office, sounded a more cautious note while on a visit to Moscow.

He declined to speculate on how North Korea might approach the talks, saying Pyongyang was too unpredictable.

"I would not dare answer that question because you know that it is not a good thing to forecast such matters because they are unpredictable," Zhao said.