NKorea nuclear talks appear to secure breakthrough

Who knew? It appears negotiating can work. Are you listening here, Bush?

Marathon talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear weapons drive have appeared to secure a major breakthrough with a joint agreement on first steps towards disarmament, according to envoys.

However, the deal still needed final approval from the governments of each of the six nations involved -- host China, the two Koreas, the United States, Japan and Russia -- and could yet fall apart, they warned.

Following 16 hours of gruelling negotiations here that finished at 2:00 am on Tuesday (1800 GMT Monday), envoys said China had circulated a draft joint statement outlining the initial actions Pyongyang would take to end its nuclear drive and the economic rewards it would receive in return.

US chief envoy Christopher Hill described the draft agreement as "excellent", and said he hoped China would be able to release a confirmed accord following one final round of meetings on Tuesday.

(read more)