N. Korea leader stirs nuclear talks hope

BEIJING -- North Korean leader Kim Jong Il said he wants a peaceful settlement to the dispute over the North's nuclear program as he wrapped up a visit to China yesterday amid a flurry of diplomacy aimed at restarting disarmament talks.

After Kim's departure, the US envoy to the six-nation talks made a surprise visit to Beijing that reportedly included a meeting with his North Korean counterpart. Neither side released any details.

There was no immediate indication that Kim promised to return to the talks, despite prodding from Chinese President Hu Jintao, who called them the ''correct choice" for resolving the dispute.

Kim told Hu that North Korea was committed to a joint statement issued at talks in September and to ''pursuing a negotiated peaceful settlement," the North's official news agency reported. In the September statement, the North promised to give up nuclear development in exchange for aid and a security guarantee.

The nuclear talks began in 2003 but have been stalled since November over Pyongyang's anger at what it calls hostile US policies. The other participants are South Korea, Japan, and Russia.

Hu told Kim that Beijing was ''ready to unswervingly make joint efforts" to promote the talks, China's official Xinhua News Agency said.

''Describing the six-party talks as an efficient mechanism to solve the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue appropriately, Hu reiterated China's principled stance, noting that it is a correct choice to properly settle the relevant problems by peaceful means through dialogues," the report said.

Beijing is under US pressure to use its status as the North's main aid donor to press Kim for progress in the nuclear talks.

The tone of Hu's reported comments to Kim was amicable. They didn't mention any demand for Pyongyang to return to the bargaining table or of possible penalties if it doesn't.

According to the North's official Korean Central News Agency, Kim mentioned unspecified ''difficulties" facing the talks and called for a joint effort with the Chinese ''to overcome the difficulties in the six-way talks and to find a way to move forward."