N. Korea faces new pressure
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Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer says his diplomatic team will convey nuclear weapons concerns to North Korea.
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(CNN) -- Australia and the United States are putting new pressure on North Korea to scrap its nuclear weapons program, with a round of talks set for Beijing and Pyongyang.
Deputy U.S. Secretary of State Richard Armitage arrived in Beijing Thursday, where he is talking to officials about how to get Pyongyang to curb its nuclear ambitions, as well as talk about Iraq reconstruction, the Chinese news agency, Xinhua, reported.
Meanwhile, a senior Australian delegation is set to leave for North Korea Saturday to urge Pyongyang to take part in a second round of six-nation talks to try to break an international impasse over its nuclear weapons program.
Armitage, who traveled from Japan, told reporters in Beijing that Washington was "extraordinarily grateful" to China for its efforts on the nuclear issue, according to Xinhua reports.
He said he hopes there will be a new round next month.
"February is a possibility," he said in his Beijing hotel. "The answer to this question lies in Pyongyang, not here," Xinhua reported.
China has been trying to convene a second round of six-nation talks on the 15-month crisis.
Six nations -- the United States, China, the two Korea, Japan and Russia -- held an inconclusive first round of talks last year to try to secure a diplomatic solution.
The Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Alexander Downer, said his nation -- one of the few Western countries to have diplomatic relations with Pyongyang -- will convey its concerns about North Korea's nuclear weapons ambitions.
The Australian delegation will be led by senior diplomat Murray McLean.
Australia restored relations with North Korea in May 2000 when Pyongyang opened a mission in the Australian capital, Canberra, in 2002.
"A constructive, diplomatic solution to North Korea's nuclear crisis, which escalated just over a year ago, is vital for the security of our region and stability in North Asia and among our allies and top trading partners," Downer said Friday.
The North Korean crisis erupted in October 2002 when U.S. officials said Pyongyang had admitted pursuing a secret uranium enrichment project for nuclear weapons.
Reuters reported that Downer said the talks are the most viable mechanism for "finding a peaceful and lasting solution to the nuclear issue."
The South Korean news agency, Yonhap, reported Friday that South Korea, the U.S. and Japan agreed during last week's policy consultations in Washington to demand North Korea "allow inspection of its nuclear facilities as part of a first step of action".
"Regardless of whether North Korea freezes its nuclear facilities or moves to dismantle its nuclear weapons programs as the 'first step,' we see that it requires an inspection," a senior foreign ministry official told Yonhap.
"That's the common view shared by the three countries."
Methods and other details of the inspection were not discussed at the talks.
