North Korea agreed Tuesday to return to six-party talks on disarming its nuclear weapons program after meeting with U.S. and Chinese officials, according to the Associated Press.
The move came three weeks after North Korea's first successful nuclear weapons test on Oct. 9, a move condemned by officials in the U.S., Japan and China. President Bush and the State Department hailed the agreement as a positive step toward easing tensions between the two nations.
"We took a step today toward getting this process back on track. This process has suffered a lot in recent weeks by the actions the DPRK has made," said Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill. North Korea's official name is the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
The talks, which could resume as early as November, would include officials from North Korea, the U.S., China, South Korea, Russia and Japan.
