SEOUL: The United States and its allies could grant North Korea its wish for direct talks with the United States but only within six-way negotiations aimed at ending its nuclear ambitions, a South Korean negotiator said yesterday.South Korean, US and Japanese negotiators agreed at the weekend to broaden the scope of the talks in the hope of enticing the North back. South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Song Min-soon said participants could be more flexible. "We indicated that the wide-ranging forum of discussions can incorporate the positions of both sides, combine them," Song said on KBS radio, referring to what he called "differences on methodology".
That may mean the North would be offered more chances to meet directly with US negotiators on the sidelines of the talks, analysts said. But Song denied there would be direct negotiations between the North and the United States outside the six-party process, as North Korea has long demanded.