U.S. weighs concessions to N. Korea

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration, which had barred concessions to North Korea before it dismantled its nuclear weapons program, is now considering some conciliatory steps. In return, North Korea would have to either fully disclose its weapons or allow international inspectors into the country, administration officials said Tuesday.

Possible concessions include some form of written assurance that the United States has no intention of attacking North Korea and some relaxation of curbs on activities by international institutions to help the North with its economic problems, the officials said.

An administration official said the United States might even be prepared to offer economic incentives, an idea it previously disparaged in connection with the Clinton administration's 1994 deal to freeze North Korea's nuclear program, which Pyongyang subsequently breached.

But, the official added, economic benefits would come only after the dismantling of the nuclear program. "There's no such thing as you- do-this and suddenly Ed McMahon shows up with a check for $10 billion," the official said.

Asian and American officials said Tuesday that the next round of talks with North Korea would take place from Aug. 27 to 29 in Beijing. That session was made possible last month, when North Korea dropped its demand that the talks be limited to direct negotiations with the United States.

The Beijing talks will involve six nations: North Korea, the United States, China, Russia, Japan and South Korea. The only other recent session was in Beijing in April, with only North Korea, China and the United States involved.

As the next Beijing meeting approaches, the Bush administration is reported once again to be divided over concessions to the North. There are also differences of view between Washington and its allies, Japan and South Korea.

An American official said that Japan and the United States take a harder line, while South Korea is inclined to accept the idea of "frontloading" some concessions in return for preliminary steps by the North toward nuclear disarmament.

A senior administration official emphasized that no final decision had been made. The final goal, he said, remains what it was: "A complete, verifiable, irreversible dismantling of North Korea's nuclear weapons program."

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