Negotiators form six countries shake hands before the start of talks in Beijing yesterday. From left are US Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly, South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Soo-hyuck, North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Japanese chief negotiator Mitoji Yabunaka and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov. -Xinhua

US assures Beijing talks it will not invade N. Korea

South Korea yesterday offered to compensate the Democratic People's Republic of Korea for giving up its nuclear program.

And the United States said it had "no intention" of invading the DPRK.

Six-country talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue began yesterday in Beijing.

The other countries at the talks are China, Russia and Japan.

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi opened the meeting, greeting delegates seated at a six-sided table.

The DPRK top delegate, Kim Kye-gwan, said he would stick to his country's best interests, hours after Pyongyang issued a last-minute demand for compensation for shutting down its nuclear program.

Washington's delegate said nothing but a wholesale elimination of nuclear activities would do.

"The United States seeks complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantlement of all North Korea's nuclear programs, both plutonium and uranium," US Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly said.

Kelly later met Kim one-on-one in a rare high-level meeting between the two sides.

All parties say they want a nuclear weapons-free Korean Peninsula.

At issue are allegations that Pyongyang has a uranium-based weapons program as well as its known plutonium-based one.

North Korean government has denied having a uranium-based program.

After the first session yesterday, South Korea said it had proposed "countermeasures" if the DPRK froze its nuclear program and showed signs of dismantling it.

Seoul's top delegate, Lee Soo-hyuck, said he presented the proposal during the opening session.

"If it is such a freeze, we can push for countermeasures," Lee told reporters, using a term that is believed to refer to compensation for North Korea giving up its nuclear ambitions.

Lee said he had told the DPRK that its freeze must cover all nuclear programs and be followed "in a short period of time" by steps toward a complete and verifiable dismantling of nuclear capabilities.

He called on the DPRK to address the uranium allegations.

The New York Times reported on its Website late on Tuesday that the DPRK will be offered fuel oil aid in return for a pledge to freeze and eventually dismantle its program.

It said the offer was expected to be made by South Korea, not the United States, at the talks.

It was unclear if that was the same as the offer disclosed by Lee.

A senior administration official in Washington said some US allies have indicated a willingness to offer North Korea incentives.

The DPRK also wants a nonaggression treaty with the United States, but Kelly said it had nothing to worry about.

"The United States has no intention of invading or attacking the DPRK," he said.

The DPRK's top delegate sounded an optimistic note.

"We hope that disagreement between each party can be narrowed as much as possible and the stalemate between the DPRK and the United States can be resolved through dialogue," said Kim, North Korea's vice foreign minister.

Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing called the first day of the talks "an important beginning" for seeking a solution.

The talks will continue today, according to official sources.