North Korea says it has agreed to return to talks about its nuclear weapons programme later this month.
The announcement came as the United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in the Chinese capital, Beijing.
Her meetings there were partly aimed at reviving the six-nation talks - involving the US, the two Koreas, Russia, China and Japan - which broke down last year.
China is one of North Korea's few allies in the region. The US wants North Korea to dismantle nuclear reactors and stop producing atomic weapons
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