North Korea to Resume Nuclear Debate

North Korea has announced that it will resume discussions on two nuclear reactors being built in their country by an international consortium supported by the United States. A U.S. desire for expanded negotiations remains unchanged.

North Korea's willingness to continue practical discussions about the reactors follows a pair of meetings in New York with American diplomats, U.S. officials said. The decision seems to indicate that Koreans do not intend to break ties with the United States or its allies, despite several months of strong rhetorical exchanges.

The announcement came as a South Korean special envoy began a three-day visit to North Korea in hopes of reviving official dialogue on the divided peninsula. The arrival of Lim Dong-won in Pyongyang marked the first public contact between the two koreas since November.

Relations between the United States and North Korea have been unusually tense since January, when President Bush declared North Korea to be part of an "axis of evil," along with Iran and Iraq. Meetings on the twin reactors took place in February, but the North Koreans declined to participate last month.

"These are just mundane, practical issues that are related to construction of these plants," said Brian Kremer, spokesman for the Korean Peninsula-Energy Development Organization, the international consortium that includes the United States, Japan and South Korea. The sessions are scheduled about once a month.

Despite the brief interruption of formal meetings, contacts continued at the power plant work sites and the diplomatic friction had no effect on the project, Kremer said. Twice in March, state Department envoy Jack Pritchard met with North Korean representatives in New York, urging more ambitious discussions.