U.S.-N. Korea agree on high-level talks

WASHINGTON -- The United States and North Korea have agreed in principle to hold talks on the level of foreign ministers later this month.

This would be the highest level of talks so far between the two countries, officials said.

Asian diplomatic sources said the talks between U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and North Korean Foreign Minister Paek Nam Sun would take place during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum in Bangkok on July 27.

The meeting would be the highest level between Washington and Pyongyang since the Korean war in 1950.

In Washington, the State Department refused to confirm the report of a planned meeting, which was also reported by the Tokyo-based Yomiuri Shimbun daily on Saturday. The daily said U.S. ambassador Charles Kartman will meet on Wednesday with North Korea's Vice Foreign Minister Kim Gye-gwan in Berlin to set the agenda for the planned session of the foreign ministers.

Earlier, Ms. Albright told reporters to "stay tuned" to any prospect of a meeting with her North Korean counterpart.