Two Senators from the ruling Republican Party echoed the demands of the opposition Democrats yesterday, calling the Bush administration to have direct talks with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in resolving the nuclear stalemate.

Richard Lugar, the Republican chairman of the Senate's foreign relations panel, told the Fox News that direct talks, which the DPRK has long requested and the Bush administration refuses, are "inevitable if this is to be resolved diplomatically."

Arlen Specter, the Republican chairman of the Senate's judiciary panel, appeared on CNN's "Late Edition," saying the "issue is serious enough with the DPRK, with their having nuclear weapons and the capacity to deliver them, that I think we ought to use every alternative, including direct bilateral talks."

The pressure for direct talks with the DPRK came as reports said the DPRK was preparing to have another nuclear test unless the U.S. government lifts sanctions against the east Asian nation.

Sen. Joseph Biden, the foreign relations panel's top Democrat, said on Fox News that Japan, Russia, China and South Korea - the other members of the six-party talks - have each privately urged the United States to allow direct talks with Pyongyang.

Biden questioned what he said was the Bush administration's policy of trying to persuade the DPRK to give up its nuclear bombs while also pursuing regime change.