"The ambassador is in a meeting with a British delegation at the foreign ministry," an embassy official said, confirming Rammell's arrival in Pyongyang.

Britain and North Korea forged diplomatic ties in December 2000.

Before leaving London, Rammell said, "this is the start of a very, very long haul to try to edge North Korea back from complete isolation."

Playing down chances of quick results, Rammell told reporters in London that he would ask North Korea to follow the example of Libya, which announced it was abandoning its program for weapons of mass destruction after secret talks with Britain and the United States.

In July North Korea rejected a US demand for Pyongyang to follow Tripoli's example.

Meanwhile, a high ranking Chinese delegation led by Li Changchun, a member of the Communist Party's powerful nine-strong standing committee, is also in Pyongyang, marking a new drive by Beijing in the quest to prevent the talks from derailing.

Three rounds of six-party talks -- among China, Japan, North Korea, Russia, South Korea and the United States -- have failed to break the deadlock triggered when Washington announced two years ago that Pyongyang was pursuing a secret uranium enrichment programm, in violation of a 1994 bilateral agreement.

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