US says ready to resume six party talks

The US is ready to resume six-party talks to resolve the Korean peninsula nuclear issue. State Department spokesman Adams Ereli commented on Friday. But, at the same time, Pyongyang accused Washington of pushing a hostile policy towards the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and South Korean Defense Minister Yoon Kwang Ung both called on Pyongyang to return to the negotiating table, after the two men held annual security talks on Friday.

Yoon said Seoul supports America's position, calling the six-party talks the optimal strategy. But Pyongyang maintains the US must accept its proposal to discuss "South Korea's nuclear problem" first, accusing the officials in Washington of "double standards".

The DPRK, South Korea, the US, Japan, China and Russia have held three rounds of talks, but failed to meet for a fourth, originally scheduled for September.