North Korea reiterates stance on six-party talks

By the CNN Wire Staff

Kim Jong-Il said that North Koera is ready to resume the talks, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency of China.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

North Korea pulled out of six-party talks in 2008
It says it's willing to resume the talks without preconditions
The U.S. and South Korea want the North to take steps toward denuclearization

RELATED TOPICS

(CNN) -- North Korea has reiterated its willingness to resume six-party talks without preconditions, Chinese state media reported.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il said during a visit to China that the North is ready to resume the talks, the state-run Xinhua news agency of China reported.

North Korea pulled out of six-party talks in 2008.

In addition to the United States and North Korea, the six-party talks involved China, Japan, Russia and South Korea. The goal was nuclear disarmament on the Korean peninsula.

North Korea has called for the resumption of six-party talks without preconditions before.

The United States and South Korea, however, have insisted on some tangible demonstration that North Korea is serious about denuclearization.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said, for example, that the United States wants North Korea to "take concrete and irreversible steps toward denuclearization."