Negotiators Show Flexibility for North Korean Nuclear Talks
Luis Ramirez

Delegates（代表）from six nations have wrapped up（全神贯注）working-level talks in preparation for a third round of formal negotiations Wednesday on North Korea's nuclear-weapons programs. Washington's allies are now indicating they might meet some of Pyongyang's（平壤）conditions.

Preliminary discussions ended Tuesday with a South Korean official saying negotiators plan to discuss a possible "freeze" of North Korea's nuclear programs.

Another official, South Korean delegation chief Lee Soo-hyuck, said his government would seek flexibility from other participants in order to move the negotiations along.

"We are here for the third round of talks and we will try to give further and more practical offers."

The South Koreans say there was a consensus（一致同意）at the preliminary talks that a freeze should be considered. U.S. officials, who have been calling for complete, verifiable（可证的）, and irreversible（不能撤回的） dismantling（拆除）of North Korea's nuclear programs, did not confirm whether such a consensus had been reached.

Monday, North Korea said it would consider drawing up a plan to freeze or dismantle its nuclear weapons project if the United States and others presented a proposal of what they would offer in return.

U.S. officials have rejected Pyongyang's previous offers to freeze its programs, and have said Washington's conditions must be met before it would consider any North Korea's demands for economic aid and security guarantees.

South Korea, Japan, China and Russia, the other four participants in the negotiations, have already offered various types of aid to North Korea if it agrees to dismantle its programs.

Speaking on his arrival in Beijing Tuesday, Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly the chief U.S. negotiator said he has no particular reason to be optimistic about the talks, but he said the United States is prepared for serious discussions.

Analysts do not expect much progress in this round of talks, knowing well the United States and North Korea remain far apart on key issues. Two earlier rounds of high-level talks in August and February ended inconclusively（非决定性地）.