UK to host North Korea arms talks

Britain will add its voice to the intense international efforts to end the escalating crisis in North Korea this week, hosting a delegation from Pyongyang led by the deputy foreign minister, Choe Su-hon, in an effort to keep the lines of dialogue open.

With the US apparently uncertain whether to pursue negotiation or take a more hardline approach to isolate Kim Jong Il's regime, the British government appears interested – as it was over Iraq – in maximising international participation.

"In our view it's important to remain engaged with North Korea and we want to use every opportunity to put our concerns across and urge them to comply with their international obligations," a Foreign Office spokeswoman said.

North Korea will also be on the agenda during a tour of Europe by Junichiro Koizumi, the Japanese Prime Minister. He met Tony Blair at Downing Street last night.

The crisis reached a new high at the end of last week after the North Koreans declared they had built nuclear weapons – a claim given considerable credence by US and other intelligence agencies, who believe Pyongyang may have assembled one or two bombs and may be about to reprocess enough uranium to build half a dozen more.

The international response, for the moment, is going in several directions at once. Following three-way talks in Beijing last week between the Chinese, the North Koreans and a US envoy, the United States is now studying a North Korean proposal to end the stand-off. The details have not been made public.

A high-level South Korean delegation, meanwhile, is planning a trip to the North to find out more about the nuclear weapons.

President Bush accused the North Koreans last week of "blackmail", but he seems uncertain whether to seek a regional solution, go to the UN and press for sanctions, or go for an isolationist approach.