U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Monday welcomed a U.S.-North Korea agreement for the resumption of the six-nation talks aimed at disarming North Korea, dpa reported. The Pyongyang government has agreed to return to the talks at the end of July after boycotting it for the past 12 months. The last inconclusive meeting was held in Beijing in June, 2004. Annan said in a statement he was "strongly encouraged" by the intention of participants in the talks to achieve progress at the resumed talks, which he said should lead to negotiations for a "stable, secure and prosperous Korean peninsula free of nuclear weapons." Annan commended China and South Korea particularly for making constructive and tireless efforts to bring North Korea back to the meeting. The six countries in the talks are China, the United States, North and South Korea, Japan and Russia. North Korea has admitted possessing nuclear weapons and has in the past demanded international aid and a separate non-aggression pact with the U.S. before it would dismantle its nuclear programme. --SP 2225 Local Time 1925 GMT
