North Korea will agree to abandon its nuclear arms programme if the United States reaffirms the contents of a 2000 joint communique which declared they had ‘‘no hostile intention’’ towards each other, diplomatic sources with close ties to Pyongyang said on Thursday. The possible way out of a stand-off over North Korea’s nuclear arms programme comes a day after Washington offered dialogue with the reclusive Communist state, but refused to offer incentives for scrapping its atomic ambitions. In public, at least, the North maintained its fierce anti-American rhetoric and has yet to respond to Washington’s offer, but a diplomatic source with close ties to Pyongyang suggested it was softening its stance. North Korea also sent South Korea a telegram on Thursday proposing holding the next regular minister-level talks with South Korea on January 21-24. In the 2000 statement, North Korea and the United States vowed to end decades of hostility and work for better ties. Meanwhile, Pyongyang kept the world waiting on Thursday for a direct response to the US offer of talks, repeating stock demands and denunciations of Washington which is insisting Pyongyang take the next step. A day after the United States changed tack and offered a dialogue with the east Asian Communist state, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said on Wednesday that ‘‘the ball is in North Korea’s court’’. US officials insisted they would not hold out additional inducements to try to persuade Pyongyang to abandon a programme believed to have spawned one or two nuclear weapons. In Moscow, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov said in comments released by his ministry that ‘‘quiet diplomacy’’ would help find a way out of the crisis. In Washington on Wednesday, US national security adviser Condoleezza Rice discussed Norh Korea with South Korean presidential envoy Yim Sung-joon. South Korea has argued for a dialogue with the North and Yim said he had told US officials that South Korean President Kim Dae-Jung hopes to lay the groundwork for a turning point in the crisis before his term ends in February. (Reuters)
