The call was made by the Rodong Sinmun newspaper, a key mouthpiece of North Korea's ruling communist party.

"The DPRK (North Korea) and the US should establish the ties of confidence with a will to respect and co-exist with each other," Rodong said in an English commentary monitored here.

"This is most essential for advancing the six-way talks and making a substantial contribution to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula."

The comments came as South Korean cable news network YTN said China had asked delegates to the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear disarmament to gather in Beijing from July 26.

"South Korea has accepted China's request and other parties remained affirmative," an unnamed South Korean government source was quoted as saying.

South Korean officials refused to confirm the report saying an announcement should be made by Beijing.

After more than a year of stalemate, North Korea has agreed to resume the six-party talks, which also involve Russia, Japan and the United States, in the last week of this month.

The first round of talks was held in August 2003, nearly a year after Pyongyang allegedly told US officials in October 2002 it was running a uranium enrichment program.

Pyongyang broke off the talks in June 2004, rejecting the US offer then on the table, which required an up-front pledge to dismantle all nuclear programs before getting energy and other assistance.

The North instead wanted a step-by-step approach, fearing it could come under attack by the United States.

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