Hopes of U.S. talks with N Korea fade

By CNN's Kirsty Alfredson
in Hong Kong and wires

HANOI, Vietnam -- North Korea's Foreign Minister is "too busy" to attend a regional security meeting in Vietnam next week, dashing U.S. hopes of sideline talks with Secretary of State Colin Powell.

It was envisaged that North Korea would agree at those talks to new negotiations over relations between the two countries.

U.S. officials had indicated they expected that Powell and North Korean Foreign Minister Paek Nam Sun would meet on the fringe of the Association for South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) conference.

Too busy to talk?

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Foreign Ministers from 10 ASEAN countries including Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam meet on Monday in Hanoi with the conference widening to involve other nations including Japan, Australia and the U.S.

Wires report a North Korean diplomat saying Paek Nam Sun will not attend the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).

"Our foreign minister will not come for the ARF meeting in Hanoi -- he's too busy," the diplomat told Reuters, adding that Pyongyang would instead be represented by an ambassador of the foreign ministry, Ho Jong.

The North Korean diplomat said that so far there was no schedule for bilateral meetings involving the ambassador.

Another report said he was preoccupied by domestic affairs.

The United States considers communist North Korea a state sponsor of international terrorism -- a label that allows it to maintain economic sanctions against Pyongyang.

Dialogue suspended

US President George W. Bush suspended dialogue with North Korea when he took office, but last month offered to resume talks on condition they be widened to include its missile program and troop concentration and weaponry along the border with South Korea.

Hanoi last week hosted North Korea's head of state and number-two leader Kim Yong-nam, and analysts said it appeared eager for a peace broker's role in next week's regional meeting.

In June North Korean Foreign Minister Paek visited Australia, meeting Foreign Minister Alexander Downer who will also be at the ASEAN meetings.

Those countries resumed diplomatic relations in May last year and agreed to establish resident embassies last month.

The Associated Press & Reuters contributed to this report.