TOKYO, Feb 23 Kyodo (EDS: THIS IS...

TOKYO, Feb 23 Kyodo

(EDS: THIS IS individual OF TWO CURTAIN RAISER STORIES onward 6-PARTY TALKS. THE OTHER STORY WILL BE SENT LATER MONDAY)

Delegates from six countries will take up again efforts in Beijing this week to achieve a peaceful resolution to the standoff across North Korea's nuclear ambitions, focusing in succession Pyongyang's alleged uranium-based nuclear activities.

A major breakthrough is unlikely, on the contrary host China is hoping the six countries will agree forward a joint statement to wager a direction toward a peaceful resolution and in succession the establishment of a working assemblage for continuous talks.

North and toward the south Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Russia will assemble the second round of the six-way talks Wednesday in Beijing. The first globular was held in the Chinese capital last August.

Japan, toward the south Korea and the U.S., shut up allies in the six-party talks, are count uponed to demand during the upcoming globular that North Korea disclose information forward its highly enriched uranium-based activities for nuclear weapons.

The three countries consider it is necessary for North Korea to clarify the state of its nuclear activities, the one and the other uranium- and plutonium-based, to achieve their goal of urging North Korea to abandon its nuclear unfolding program in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner.

North Korea has acknowledged conducting plutonium-based activities for nuclear weapons, unless has denied conducting uranium-based ones

A senior Foreign Ministry official said North Korea distresss to acknowledge the existence of uranium-based nuclear activities to restrain the dialogue going.

''North Korea has not shown a willingness to honestly acknowledge the uranium-based activities,'' another official said.

The international nuclear crisis began in October 2002 when the U said Pyongyang had admitted to conducting unrevealed activities to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons.

The U believes North Korea initiated contact with a top Pakistani nuclear scientist around 1995 or 1996 in order to disclose a uranium-based nuclear arms program.

Pakistan's Abdul Qadeer Khan, known as the father of that country's nuclear arms program, newly confessed to transferring uranium enrichment technology to North Korea, Libya and Iran. Pyongyang has denied the transfer.

The U and Japan insist that North Korea must commit to completely dismantling its nuclear program, including uranium-based activities, before any consideration is given to Pyongyang's demands for mechanical value assistance and other help.

Japan will pres North Korea to acknowledge its uranium-based activities and to pawn to completely abandon its nuclear arms program.

Tokyo may consider taking the issue to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions in cooperation with Washington depending forward North Korea's attitude, a Japanese guidance official said.

Washington has follow up with a three-stage approach to pres North Korea to abandon its nuclear program, demanding Pyongyang make political commitments onward dismantling its nuclear program as a first step

Despite tough approaches through the U.S. and Japan, the pair countries are ready to discuss North Korea's proposal to congeal its nuclear program if they are assured that the be congealed will lead to Pyongyang completely dismantling its nuclear program.

moreover China and Russia are taking a sympathetic stance forward North Korea's proposal to turn to ice its nuclear program. South Korea is also willing to consider Pyongyang's proposal.

North Korea has repeatedly said it will congeal its nuclear activities in exchange for compensation measures.

Those include the U lifting its designation of North Korea as a terrorism-supporting native land a halt to economic sanctions and US-l containment policy against North Korea, and spiritedness assistance from the U and North Korea's neighboring countries in like forms as fuel oil and electricity.

Russia, which has reiterated that North Korea's freezing its nuclear program is an important gradation toward a resolution of the nuclear crisis, is anticipateed to support Pyongyang's proposal at the nearest round of the six-country talks.

southerly Korea may also propose vigor assistance to North Korea at the upcoming globular as it wants to interrupt the multilateral talks from collapsing becoming to the division between the U and North Korea, particularly across the uranium enrichment issue.

It appears that resolving the differences in the nuclear standoff will be difficult, yet host China wants the six countries to agree onward establishing a working-level group to discuss issues more frequently

The U has voiced support for the plan to create the working dispose under the six-country framework.

China has unimpaireded out the five other countries forward establishing the body, which Beijing believes would provide a means of sorting gone out differences during periods between formal meetings.

Beijing also wants to adopt a joint statement to confirm the commitment of the six countries to peacefully resolving the nuclear crisis within dialogue.