A senior US official told AFP that three days of talks would take place between April 23 and 25. "We will continue to press for Japan and the Republic of Korea's early inclusion in the talks - that will be one of our priorities," said State Department deputy spokesman Philip Reeker.

The Republic of Korea (ROK), Japan and others including Russia will not participate in the talks, AFP said.

ROK President Roh Moo-hyun defended his endorsement of the tripartite dialogue, as some people are unhappy with the fact that the ROK is not part of the talks. "What is important is not the format but the results of the talks," Roh told chief advisors, presidential officials said.

The format represents a compromise between Pyongyang's demand for one-on-one discussions with Washington, and the US call for a multilateral regional solution. Pyongyang signalled on Saturday it was open to multilateral talks.

"We're very pleased with the involvement of the Chinese," Scott McClellan, a White House spokesman, was quoted by AFP as saying.

The US side will be represented by Assistant Secretary of State for Asia-Pacific Affairs James Kelly, AFP reported.

Kelly will meet senior officials from Japan and the ROK in Washington today to co-ordinate policy for the Beijing talks.

Russia welcomed the coming talks. "We would welcome any format for negotiations and any agreement that would lead to a peaceful settlement," the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement yesterday.

In another report, the DPRK asked for rice and fertilizer aid from the ROK yesterday, according to ROK national news agency Yonhap News.

Jang Jae-on, head of the DPRK Red Cross Society, made the request in a telephone conversation with his ROK counterpart Suh Young-hoon yesterday, Yonhap reported.

The ROK side previously said it would consider a plan to provide the DPRK with 200,000 tons of fertilizer this year if the DPRK makes such a request.

(China Daily April 18, 2003)