He underlined Washington's demand for North Korea to completely disband its nuclear arms network before receiving any compensation despite reports suggesting that China and South Korea and possibly Japan were in favour of incremental rewards to Pyongyang as it abandons its nuclear arsenal.

North Korea should "fully divulge and fully turn over and fully dismantle in a way that the whole world can see and there is no question about it," Powell said after a meeting with International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei.

He said he briefed ElBaradei on the upcoming six-party talks in Beijing to help end the North Korean crisis.

Powell said Washington would adopt flexibility in the third round of the talks beginning Wednesday also involving China, the Koreas, Japan and Russia.

Ahead of the Beijing talks, Powell was asked by reporters whether Washington would be flexible in its bid to resolve the nuclear turmoil and consider providing aid if North Korea abandoned its nuclear weapons arsenal.

He said North Korea should stop its nuclear military activities and "make sure that we remove their nuclear program."

China and South Korea regard the US policy on North Korea as too stiff and are reportedly trying to cut their own deals with Pyongyang. Japan could also follow suit.

Powell, without elaborating, acknowledged that "the other members of the six-party talks have indicated a willingness to provide some assistance rather quickly.

He said "the United States will want to see performance on the part of the North Koreans, but we will enter these talks as we have entered previous talks: with flexibility and with an attitude of trying to solve this problem."

"We have made clear to the North Koreans what it will take to solve the problem and the benefits ultimately await North Korea when the problem is resolved," Powell said

ElBaradei said the North Korean crisis was "one of the most dangerous challenges facing the international community."

On when he expected IAEA inspectors to return to North Korea, he said: I (hope) that we will be soon in a position to go back and verify the North Korean propgram and make sure that it is all under agency verification."

North Korea expelled the UN nuclear inspectors in December 2002, two months after the impasse blew up when Washington said the Stalinist state had broken a 1994 nuclear freeze by launching a secret nuclear weapons program.

While Pyongyang denies it is running a uranium scheme, it has offered to freeze its plutonium facilities in return for simultaneous rewards like energy and food aid from the United States.

The United States insist it dismantle its nuclear programs first before any aid is considered.

Two rounds of the six-party talks hosted by China have failed to narrow differences on how to end the 20-month-old crisis.

Meanwhile, a non-partisan, non-profit US group Carnegie Endowment for International Peace urged Washington to appoint a presidential envoy to negotiate with North Korea for the complete dismantlement of its nuclear weapon capabilities in return for improved bilateral relations.

"At the same time, the US and its regional dialogue partners should establish that any attempt by North Korea to export nuclear materials or weapons will be considered an act of war," said the report, presented at an international non-proliferation conference in Washington.

The proposal was part of a blueprint aimed at strengthening global nuclear security and prevent nuclear terrorism.

The United States has rejected any bilateral talks with North Korea on the nuclear crisis and favours a multilateral approach to resolving it.

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