6-Party Talks to Resume in Early December

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, U.S. President George W. Bush and Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso Saturday agreed to resume the six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear program early next month to discuss the verification of the North's nuclear declaration and disabling of its nuclear facilities, Yonhap News reported.

The agreement was reached at a tripartite summit of the three leaders held on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in the Peruvian capital of Lima.

"They have it worked out and China will announce (the date). There is a sense that this meeting will happen," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino was quoted as saying after the three-way summit.

"We don't have a date to announce yet but there is an agreement to have a meeting and so we're just working to make sure everyone's schedules work out before the Chinese would announce anything as to the timing."

Bush, who met with Chinese President Hu Jintao, the host of the six-party talks, Friday, was to hold talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, another participant in the deadlocked negotiations, later on Saturday.

President Lee's spokesman Lee Dong-kwan told reporters that there is a consensus among all participants that the North Korean nuclear problem should be discussed within the framework of the six-party talks that involve the two Koreas, the U.S., China, Japan and Russia.

"The agreement on the resumption of the six-party talks has yet to be finalized and China, as the host of the process, is expected to play its remaining role," spokesman Lee was quoted as saying.

North Korea agreed in 2005 to abandon its nuclear programs in exchange for economic and diplomatic incentives. Pyongyang, which tested a nuclear device in 2006, began disabling its nuclear facilities last year.

The U.S. removed the communist North from its terrorism blacklist in October. But the two sides have since been at odds over the verification of North Korean nuclear programs, with Washington insisting on strict measures to ensure Pyongyang is not hiding any active atomic facilities.

North Korea eventually declared on Nov. 12 that it would not allow outside inspectors to take samples from its main nuclear complex in Yongbyon. Sample-taking is believed to be a key means of nuclear verification.

It remains uncertain whether the five countries have reached an agreement with North Korea on the timing of the next six-party talks. But considering China is said to be announcing the specific schedules shortly, the five nations are believed to have fine-tuned a common understanding with the North, diplomatic observers say.