BEIJING. Oct 6 (Interfax-AVN) - North Korea will be prepared to restart the six-party talks on the nuclear problem of the Korean Peninsula on condition that bilateral talks with the United States are a success, North Korean leader Kim Jong-il said on Monday.
"Relations between North Korea and the U.S. must evolve to peaceful from hostile through bilateral talks. While assessing the situation in such bilateral talks, North Korea could prepare itself for a multilateral negotiating process, including talks in the six-party format," Kim told Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in Pyongyang.
Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is the goal left behind by Chairman Kim Il Sung, the North Korean leader added. "North Korea's plan of turning the peninsula into a nuclear-free zone remains unchanged," he said.
The Chinese premier, in turn, welcomed North Korea's commitment to denuclearization. "The Chinese side is ready to join the common effort to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula and to play an active role in maintaining peace and stability in Northeast Asia," Wen said.
Pyongyang announced in April 2009 that it was pulling out of the six-party talks, involving the United States, Russia, China, Japan and the two Koreas, and restarting its nuclear program in response to the UN Security Council's condemnation of its launch of a long-range missile.