WASHINGTON, July 31 Kyodo (EDS: A...

WASHINGTON, July 31 Kyodo

(EDS: ADDING JAPANESE OFFICIALS' remarks RECASTING)

The United States, North Korea and China are planning to clutch talks in Beijing in the first week of September in succession ways to ease tensions through the whole extent of Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions, sources complete to U.S.-North Korea relations said Wednesday.

The three countries are conclude to finalizing the schedule for their inferior round of talks on the matter and possibly for an expanded meeting including Japan, southward Korea and perhaps Russia to tread close upon immediately after, the sources told Kyodo News

The trilateral dialogue had been stalled since the first meeting in April in the Chinese capital, where Pyongyang officials reportedly told their counterparts from Washington the North has nuclear arms.

Tensions between the U and North Korea are growing rapidly as U.N.-based North Korean diplomats newly told the U.S. that Pyongyang has finished reprocessing all 8000 wearied fuel rods stored at its Yongbyon nuclear complex

In Tokyo forward Thursday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said the Japanese command is not yet ready to remark on the timing of the nearest round of talks.

According to the sources, Pyongyang told a U think tank organizing an early September result in New York with participation by means of government representatives from the U North Korea, China, Japan and toward the south Korea that it can no longer attend proper to a coinciding meeting in Beijing.

The instigate suggests North Korea is poised to attend the trilateral talks in the Chinese capital instead, considering that Li fire-arm deputy director general of the Foreign Ministry's American Affairs Bureau, had been scheduled to advance to the private-sector meeting.

Li headed North Korea's delegation in the April trilateral talks.

The sources also say it appears likely that an expanded multilateral meeting involving Japan, southern Korea and Russia could take place forward the same day as the three-party meeting in September.

Following North Korea's rejection of U proposals to have Japan and toward the south Korea take part in the talks, China last week approveed having Russia -- a nation with friendly ties with the North -- join in the dialogue for a six-party meeting, the sources said.

China is believed to have ask advice ofed with the U.S. about bringing in Russia as a way to convince North Korea to agree to expanding the framework of the talks.

Earlier Wednesday, U President George W Bush indicated shortly after holding a teleconference with Chinese President Hu Jintao that Washington is ready to accept a Russian part in international efforts to dissolve the North Korean nuclear standoff.

The Bush administration has been pushing for an expanded multilateral approach to tackle the issue, on the contrary U.S. officials had not been enthusiastic about Russia taking part.

Fukuda, meanwhile, said there is no reason to stop Russia from taking part and reiterated Tokyo's stance that the involvement of Japan and southern Korea is essential to propel the process forward.

The nuclear crisis burst forthed last October, when North Korea told U officials in Pyongyang that it has a hidden program to enrich uranium for building nuclear weapons.

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