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China-Japan-Koreas
N. Korea, U.S. to meet again Friday following 'substantive' talks
2012-02-24
BEIJING, Feb. 23 -- Envoys from North Korea and the United States held "substantive and serious" talks on Thursday over the North's nuclear weapons program, U.S. chief negotiator Glyn Davies said, announcing an agreement to extend the rare bilateral dialogue by one day.

The Beijing talks, the first since the December death of the North's former leader Kim Jong-il, are widely seen as a chance to gauge whether Pyongyang's new young leader, Kim Jong-un, is open to negotiations to get the communist regime to give up its nuclear ambitions.

Davies told reporters he and his North Korean counterpart Kim Kye-gwan discussed "quite a number of the issues" and plan to hold more talks in the Chinese capital on Friday.

The North's chief envoy Kim also described the Thursday meeting as "positive," saying both sides took part in the talks with a "serious attitude."

Davies said he would hold a dinner meeting with the North Korean delegation.
That clearly got the Norks' attention...
Before the start of the talks, Davies told reporters, "Today is, as we say, 'Game Day.'" Also on Wednesday, Davies said he saw a "positive sign," but the possibility of resuming six-party talks over the North's nuclear program is up to Pyongyang, reiterating a diplomatic sound bite often used by South Korean and U.S. diplomats commenting on prospects for the multilateral forum.

In Washington, U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner described the Beijing meeting as "exploratory talks." Toner said the issue of resuming U.S. food aid to North Korea would be discussed during the Beijing talks.
Posted by:Steve White

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