North Korea has agreed to return to stalled six-party talks on its nuclear program, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday. "Heads of delegation to the six-party talks from China, North Korea, and the U.S. had an informal meeting in Beijing on Monday, as proposed by China, and agreed that the six-party talks be held soon," the ministry said on its website. The statement went on to say that the heads of the three nations "had a candid and in-depth exchange of views on continuing efforts to advance the process of the six-party talks," but it was not clear yet whether North Korea put any conditions on returning to the talks.

The meeting was attended by U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei and North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan. The six-party talks have been stalled for the last 13 months after a statement of principles on Sept. 19 in the fourth round committed the North to giving up its nuclear ambitions in return for aid and security guarantees.

The South Korean Foreign Ministry in a statement said Seoul welcomes the North's decision to return to the nuclear talks. It expressed hope that denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is realized soon after the six parties resume talks and that they will agree how to implement the statement of principles.

Meanwhile, AP reported that North Korea warned the South against participating in the U.S.-led Proliferation Security Initiative aimed at intercepting North Korean ships suspected of carrying weapons of mass destruction. The agency quoted Pyongyang's official news agency as saying involvement would bring about unspecified "catastrophic consequences."

The homepage of the Chinese Foreign Ministry announces that North Korea has agreed to rejoin six-nation talks on its nuclear program.

The following is the text of Chinese Foreign Ministry statement:

"On October 31, as proposed by China, the heads of delegation to thesix-party talks from China, [North Korea] and the United States had an informal meeting in Beijing. The three parties had a candid and in-depth exchange of views on continuing efforts to advance the process of the six-party talks. The three parties all agreed that the six-party talks be held soon at a time convenient to the six parties."

(englishnews@chosun.com )