The Bush administration should consider direct talks with North Korea amid signs that country may soon test a long-range missile, senior members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said on Sunday.

A North Korean is seen between two South Korean soldiers at the truce village of Panmunjon in a file photo. North Korea wants talks with Washington over its apparent preparations for a missile test, Yonhap news agency said on Wednesday. [Reuters]

The United States so far has refused direct discussions on a possible missile launch and instead has focused on six-way talks, involving the two Koreas, Japan, China and Russia, to persuade Pyongyang to end its nuclear arms program in return for aid and security assurances.

"It would be advisable to bring about a much greater intensification of diplomacy, and this may involve direct talks between the United States and the North Koreans," Sen. Richard Lugar, the committee chairman and one of President George W. Bush's fellow Republicans, said on CBS' "Face the Nation."

The flurry of activity follows evidence that North Korea may test-fire a Taepodong-2 long-range ballistic missile that could reach the United States, which has activated a ground-based missile interceptor defense system.

"It would be very helpful if Russia and China were able to bring the pressure," Lugar of Indiana said. "But nevertheless, with regard to a missile that might have range to the United States, that becomes a very specific United States-North Korean issue, and perhaps Japanese-North Korean issue."

Such a test would be the first launch of a long-range missile since 1998, when North Korea surprised the world by shooting one that passed over Japan and landed in the Pacific Ocean.

The United States has said firing a test missile would be inconsistent with a 1999 moratorium declared by North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, which he reaffirmed in 2002, as well as a September 19, 2005, statement in which the six powers pledged to stabilize the Korean Peninsula.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner, a Virginia Republican, said on "Fox News Sunday" that the weather was deteriorating, "which would not make it an optimal time to try and test it."

BETTER THAN 'THIS BRINKSMANSHIP'

Delaware Sen. Joseph Biden, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, said on CNN's "Late Edition" program that direct talks "may not work, but, my Lord, it sure ... is a better way of approaching this and finding what the bottom line is than this brinksmanship."

Bush last week in Vienna warned against a missile test and said he expected North Korea to keep to their agreements. Pyongyang had indicated an interest in special talks over the issue.

"We need to talk directly with North Korea," Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel, the No. 2 Republican on the committee, said on CNN. "The sooner we do that, the sooner we're going to get this resolved."

Lugar also advised the White House against taking a pre-emptive strike to take out the missile on the launch pad, though one Democrat said the option should be on the table.

"We can't take anything off the table, and, of course, there are always sanctions short of military force," Sen. Barbara Boxer, a California Democrat and member of the Foreign Relations Committee, said on the CBS program.

She also said she supported direct talks with North Korea.

The added pressure from Congress comes after the Senate last week approved an amendment to a defense authorization bill that would require Bush to appoint a senior presidential envoy as a coordinator of U.S. policy on North Korea.

It must still pass the House of Representatives to become law.