SYDNEY Feb 3 Kyodo North Korea is...

SYDNEY Feb 3 Kyodo

North Korea is willing to rejoin stalled six-party talks upon its nuclear program, an Australian delegation has been told by means of Pyongyang, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said Tuesday.

Australia sent a team of top-level officials to North Korea last week to expres its touch over Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions and to force onward disarmament.

''The delegation has had a certain quantity of very positive responses from the North Koreans. They got a surpassingly good hearing,'' Downer told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.

''I'm fine pleased with what they've reported back to me which is that apparently the North Koreans will be willing to pierce into the six-party talks again, and bonny soon,'' the minister said, adding, ''But of course that's for the North Koreans to announce.''

First-round talks in Beijing last August with southward Korea, the United States, Japan, Russia and China failed to unfold questions about North Korea's nuclear ambitions.

The multinational talks aim to convince North Korea to adopt a ''verifiable'' abandonment of its nuclear program, Downer said. ''That is, that there'll be a certain number of sort of system of being able to monitor the locations where they've had nuclear programs to make positive they don't open them up again.''

As individual of only a few countries to have diplomatic relations with North Korea, the Australia conduct believes it is in a position to help unfold the standoff.

Japan, the U and southern Korea have asked North Korea to agree to convoke a second round of talks this month unless they have yet to receive a response

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