US/North Korea: The US has reacted cautiously to reports that the North Korean leader, Mr Kim Jong-il, is ready to resume dialogue with Washington.
A South Korea special presidential envoy, Mr Lim Dong-won, said the North Korean leader had accepted a proposal from the South Korean President, Mr Kim Dae-jung, to resume talks with the US and revive the stalled process of rapprochement on the Korean peninsula.
A senior White House official travelling with President Bush in Texas this weekend said the reports had been noted. "We've always said we're open to dialogue any time, any place, anywhere, without preconditions."
Mr Bush has labelled North Korea part of an "axis of evil" with Iran and Iraq, claiming it was bent on developing weapons of mass destruction. This week North Korea's state media declared Washington the "most wicked sworn enemy" of Korea.
Mr Lim said after a three-day visit to Pyongyang: "Chairman Kim Jong-il has accepted the request from President Kim Dae-jung that the North should reopen dialogue with the US to avoid tension on the Korean peninsula.
"President Kim recommended that the North should take a different approach in opening dialogue with the United States and Chairman Kim expressed his will to engage in talks with Washington."
He said Pyongyang had already taken constructive steps by inviting Mr Donald Gregg, a former US ambassador to Seoul, for informal meetings with senior officials. Mr Gregg is due in Pyongyang today.
The latest developments came amid growing signs that North Korea may be making important policy adjustments to deal with what Mr Kim Jong-il has recently described as a "stern" security situation resulting from confrontation with the Bush administration.
North Korea is suspected of having a nuclear weapons programme and of having thousands of tonnes of chemical weapons and an active missile programme.