Report: North Korea open to talks

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has again indicated willingness to participate in bilateral talks with the United States and return to six-party talks over its nuclear program, China’s Xinhua news agency reported. The attitude shift by North Korea — which pulled out of talks in April to protest the United Nations’ condemnation over its nuclear test and missile launches — came amid Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s weekend visit to Pyongyang, Xinhua reported Monday.

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Will Wen’s visit bring North Korea back to the table?

Can Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao persuade North Korea to return to the six-party talks on its nuclear weapons program? North Korean leader Kim Jong Il greeted Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao at the Pyongyang airport Sunday, kicking off a three-day visit to the reclusive nation, China’s official Xinhua news agency reported

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Tired Bolt pulls out of Korean event, say organizers

The world’s fastest man Usain Bolt has withdrawn from a meeting in South Korea later this month due to fatigue, according to its organizers. The triple Olympic and world champion sprinter was due to line up in Daegu on September 25, with the one-day event to be a warm-up for when the city hosts the next World Athletics Championships in 2011

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Videos show FARC captives

Police officers and soldiers held captive by the leftist guerrilla group known as FARC pleaded to Colombian President Alvaro Uribe to negotiate their release in a series of nine proof-of-life videos released Monday. Pyongyang limited access to the North Korean border city of Kaesong in December as relations worsened between the nations. The decision restricted traffic to and from a jointly run industrial complex there.

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Reports: North Korea releases South Korean fishing boat

A South Korean fishing boat and its four crew members were heading home Saturday after being held for a month in North Korea, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported. The Yeonan-ho and its crew were handed over to a South Korean patrol boat waiting at the sea border Saturday evening, Yonhap reported, citing South Korean maritime police. North Korean officials captured the vessel and its crew July 30 after the boat strayed deep into North Korean territorial waters, North’s Korean Central News Agency reported at the time

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