WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- The United States says any talks with North Korea should lead to "complete and verifiable denuclearization" of the Korean Peninsula.
The United States responded to reports that North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, in talks with visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, had expressed willingness to return to the stalled six-nation talks on the North's denuclearization, based on the outcome of bilateral talks with the United States.
Speaking to reporters in Washington, U.S. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said the United States and its partners in the six-nation talks ''want North Korea to engage in a dialogue that leads to complete and verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula through irreversible steps," Kyodo News reported.
''The U.S. remains willing to engage North Korea bilaterally within the framework of the six-party process to convince North Korea to take the path of complete denuclearization,'' Kelly said.
The talks have stalled for about a year and North Korea withdrew from the talks in April in retaliation for U.N. sanctions over its long-range rocket test.
Kelly said no decision has been made about sending Special Representative Stephen Bosworth to North Korea as U.S. officials await the results of Wen's trip, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported.
