North Korea said today it is willing to resolve the dispute over its nuclear programme "through dialogue."
This is an apparent softening of its stance following last week's six-nation talks in Beijing.
After last week's talks in the Chinese capital, North Korea had angrily dismissed the need for more talks and threatened to strengthen its "nuclear deterrent force," casting doubt on the prospects for future talks.
Today, Pyongyang's state-run news agency KCNA repeated North Korea's threat to increase its nuclear capabilities unless the United States changes its policy and signs a non-aggression treaty with the communist state, but it also said North Korea was willing to continue the six-nation talks.
Last week, representatives from the United States, the two Koreas, Japan, China and Russia met in Beijing to discuss ways to end the nuclear crisis.
After the meeting, China released a statement saying all the six countries agreed to continue to talk, but the North Korea said it no longer had "interest nor expectations" for such talks.
The United States insists that North Korea scrap its nuclear programmes, but the North says the United States must first provide security and aid guarantees.
AP