<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=629 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=3>N Korea 'to scrap nuclear arms'

</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=416><!-- S BO --><!-- S IIMA --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=203 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD> North Korea's Yongbyon plant could be opened to inspection

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- E IIMA --><!-- S SF -->North Korea has agreed to give up all nuclear arms and activities and rejoin the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, according to negotiators in Beijing.

Pyongyang has also agreed to accept inspections by the UN nuclear watchdog.

In return, the US has declared that it has no intention of attacking North Korea and will respect its sovereignty.

The breakthrough came during a fourth round of six-party talks in Beijing aimed at ending a three-year standoff over North Korea's nuclear ambitions. <!-- E SF -->

The six nations involved in the talks will discuss North Korea's request for a light water nuclear reactor at a later date, according to a joint statement.

"This is the most important result since the six-party talks started more than two years ago," said Wu Dawei, China's vice foreign minister.

'Right to energy'

The North "promised to drop all nuclear weapons and current nuclear programmes and to get back to the Non-Proliferation Treaty as soon as possible and to accept inspections" by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the statement said, quoted by the Associated Press.

"The United States affirmed that it has no nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula and has no intention to attack or invade (North Korea) with nuclear or conventional weapons."

North Korea "stated that it has the right to peaceful uses of nuclear energy", the statement said, for which the other nations "expressed their respect".

The deal included offers of energy aid to North Korea, and "economic co-operation in the fields of energy, trade and investment".

The statement said the US and North Korea, which President George W Bush included in his "axis of evil", would work to normalise relations over time. The BBC's Charles Scanlon in Seoul says the statement appears to be a significant step forward in principle, but it is in its implementation that difficulties may arise. The six parties - North and South Korea, the US, China, Japan and Russia - agreed to meet for a further round of talks in early November in Beijing.<!-- E BO -->


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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asi...ic/4259128.stm