N. Korea to rejoin nuclear talks

Pyongyang agrees to return to negotiations

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- North Korea says it will rejoin international nuclear arms talks, ending a more than year-long boycott, after North Korean and U.S. envoys held a previously unannounced meeting in Beijing.
The six-nation talks will resume July 25, the North's official Korean Central News Agency said Saturday.The top envoys to the negotiations from the United States and North Korea -- U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill and North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan -- met Saturday in the Chinese capital, KCNA said."The U.S. side clarified its official stand to recognize (North Korea) as a sovereign state, not to invade it and hold bilateral talks within the framework of the six-party talks," KCNA reported.