The wire service AFP reported that a high-ranking official from the U.S. State Department said that North Korea had accepted the request for six-nation talks and that the meeting would be held as soon as the end of this month or early next month.

Lee Soo-hyuk, assistant deputy foreign minister, said Friday that Russia had also officially announced North Korea's acceptance of the six-nation talks, and that Pyongyang had officially notified the South Korean government of its stance through direct channels.

North Korea told Seoul that it would accept the six-nation talks without going through a preliminary three-party or bilateral meeting, Lee explained. The North had been requesting the preliminary meeting as a condition for agreeing to the multilateral format.

"The time, place and agenda of the six-nation talks will have to be discussed with other nations, but talks are most likely to be held in Beijing," Lee said.

Lee also explained that the Foreign Ministry had waited a day to disclose North Korea's notification because time was needed to analyze Pyongyang's intentions and hear out the opinions of the other nations involved. "North Korea acknowledges that multiple nations are concerned with its nuclear problem and it accepted the six-nation talks for that reason," Lee added.

Following the news, Foreign Minister Yoon Young-kwan met with U.S. Ambassador Thomas Hubbard and discussed the procedures for the six-nation talks.

(Gwon Gyeong-bok, kkb@chosun.com )