The United States has a serious proposal for North Korea and is ready to discuss it at six-party talks on Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programmes, a senior US official was quoted as saying on Monday. "We are ready to go. We have a serious proposal. And we are ready to discuss it without preconditions," Kyodo news agency quoted Michael Green, senior director for Asia on the National Security Council, as telling reporters in Tokyo.
He gave no details of the proposal.
Green made the remarks after visiting officials at the Prime Minister's Office, Kyodo said.
North Korea has joined the United States, China, South Korea, Japan and Russia for three rounds of nuclear talks since August 2003. China has played host to the negotiations.
Pyongyang boycotted a fourth round, originally set for last September, and has said it would watch how US policy towards it shapes up before deciding whether to return to the talks.
Green urged Pyongyang to show up at a fresh round of six-party talks, Kyodo said.
Later, in a report from Beijing, Kyodo quoted diplomatic sources as saying Green would arrive in the Chinese capital late on Monday for talks expected to cover the resumption of the six-way talks on North Korea's nuclear ambitions.
Kyodo quoted Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi as saying Tokyo was considering specific steps to put pressure on North Korea to reach solutions on various issues, while keeping talks going.
"We are considering how to resolve the abduction, nuclear and other issues comprehensively and what measures are effective to that end both in terms of dialogue and pressure," Koizumi was quoted as telling reporters.
A feud between Japan and North Korea has intensified since November, when bones handed over to Japanese diplomats were found after DNA tests not to be those of Japanese citizens abducted by North Koreaa in the 1970s and 1980s to teach its spies about Japan.
Pyongyang accused Tokyo last Wednesday of fabricating the DNA test results, and Japanese officials said they would consider stiff measures including economic sanctions against the North.
Last week, Japanese diplomatic sources said China had proposed holding working level talks to pave the way for a fourth round of six-party talks.
The proposal was made as the international community is trying to persuade the reclusive communist state to abandon its nuclear weapons programmes.
US officials say communist North Korea may have more than eight nuclear weapons and Bush once branded the North as part of an "axis of evil" along with Iran and Saddam Hussein's Iraq.
In return for scrapping its nuclear weapons programme, Pyongyang demands security assurances from the United States as well as energy and other economic aid.
The stand-off began in October 2002 when the United States said North Korea had said it had a secret programme based on highly enriched uranium as well as a plutonium scheme that it had put on hold. Pyongyang later denied having a uranium project.
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