BEIJING, July 26: The United States on Tuesday reassured North Korea it viewed the country as a sovereign nation which it would not attack, as a new round of talks began to address the North’s nuclear weapons programmes. North Korea also struck a less confrontational tone, announcing that it wanted to work towards a nuclear-free Korean peninsula in language observers saw as a positive sign that progress could be made after a 13-month deadlock.

The US approach, just months after Washington described the secretive Stalinist state as an “outpost of tyranny”, will go some way to placating the North which has long urged the US to recognise it as a legitimate government.

But the United States made no mention about normalizing ties, another key demand of North Korea before it agrees to work on ways to dismantle its atomic weapons.

“We view the DPRK’s sovereignty as a matter of fact. ... And we remain prepared to speak with the DPRK bilaterally in the context of these talks,” chief US envoy Christopher Hill said in opening remarks.

The softer line from Washington, which was instrumental in bringing North Korea back to the negotiating table, followed a rare bilateral meeting between the two sides on Monday.

The two sides had another one-to-one contact on Tuesday afternoon, which Mr Hill described as “good” and “businesslike.” But he predicted it would take a long time for issues to be settled.

“Everyone had the opportunity to put their issues on the table, ... but this may take a little longer than you would want and I want,” he said.

Mr Hill said the two sides also discussed a US proposal put forward last June, which required North Korea to pledge to dismantle all its plutonium and uranium weapons programs before receiving any energy and other assistance. “I don’t want to characterise their response, ... I don’t want to call it positive or negative,” Mr Hill said.—AFP