N. Korea nuclear talks could exclude Russia, Japan

Earlier on Friday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-il met with a special Chinese presidential envoy to discuss bilateral and international issues "in a cordial atmosphere," South Korea's Yonhap agency quoted Pyongyang's Korean Central Broadcasting Station as saying.

"North Korea has virtually insisted on two-party dialogue with the U.S. to solve the nuclear issue, among other security issues on the Korean Peninsula...and someone else could also join [the talks], like South Korea or China," Alexander Zhebin, the head of the Center for Korean Studies at the Far East Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said.

"During discussions at the UN Security Council earlier this year on the nuclear missile issue... Russia showed its solidarity with the U.S. and Japan's position, which clearly disappointed Pyongyang," Zhebin said.

He said a similar situation had occurred in the 1990s when Russia followed the West's position in regard to relations with North Korea, resulting in the North considering Russia's participation in multi-party talks at the time to be useless. He added: "Russia may be excluded from participating in the talks."

According to Zhebin, Pyongyang is making a positive move by showing some flexibility in the format of possible talks and is willing to hold bilateral dialogue with the U.S. or expand the negotiations to include China and South Korea; Kazinform cites RIA Novosti. See www.en.rian.ru for full version.