U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell will try to revive talks to scrap North Korea's nuclear programs on a trip to Asia starting on Saturday but his chances are limited by uncertainty over the outcome of the U.S. election. On his first visit to the region for 18 months, Powell will hammer out with Japan, China and South Korea a strategy to persuade the reclusive North Korea back to six-party negotiations which it has refused to attend since June. But with Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry offering bilateral talks, North Korea is believed to be holding out for a Kerry win that it hopes could bring concessions. The Bush administration has taken a tough line and some senior officials are skeptical of the value holding any talks at all. Even if President George W. Bush is reelected, there have been reports that Powell, an advocate of the six-party talks, would not serve out a second term and that North Korea might wait to see the make-up of the new U.S. Cabinet before resuming negotiations. "The North Koreans see Powell as a lame duck. They will keep stalling until they know who they will be negotiating with," said one U.S. official, who represents a wing in the Bush administration opposed to the talks with North Korea. --More 0103 Local Time 2203 GMT
