N. Korea nuclear talks to resume

SEOUL, July 8 (UPI) -- North Korean denuclearization talks, stalled for nine months, are to resume this week, a South Korean official said Tuesday.

Kim Sook said the six-nation talks are to resume Thursday in Beijing, The New York Times reported. Participants are the United States, the Koreas, China, Japan and Russia.

Talks were stymied until June, when North Korea submitted delayed-but-partial documentation of its nuclear programs. In return, the United States moved to remove North Korea from its list of states that sponsor terrorism and eased economic sanctions.

Kim said talks would focus on verifying the nuclear accounting, including the reported amount of plutonium. The participants are also to discuss hastening disabling North Korea's main nuclear complex in return for fuel aid shipments.

Disabling the country's nuclear facilities in Yongbyon is the second part of the three-phase process.

Kim said the transition from the second phase to the third, which requires North Korea to dismantle its nuclear programs, also is expected to be discussed, Yonhap reported.

"I will hold consultations with each country to secure an important bridgehead for achieving the goal of North Korea eventually giving up its nuclear weapons programs," he said.