Kim made the rare conciliatory comments to visiting Chinese foreign minister Yang Jiechi, Xinhua news agency said, in talks that included the stalled six-nation agreement under which North Korea has promised to dismantle its nuclear programmes.

"Recently some signs of easing on the Korean peninsula have appeared. All sides should implement the initial actions (of the nuclear accord)," Kim was quoted as telling Yang.

"China has worked hard to help resolve the Korean peninsula nuclear issue. North Korea wishes to continue to strengthen communication and coordination on the issue."

Yang arrived in Pyongyang in Monday amid fresh hopes of pushing forward the disarmament accord that would eradicate North Korea's nuclear weapons programme in exchange for aid and diplomatic concessions.

North Korea was to have begun shutting its key Yongbyon nuclear reactor by now -- Pyongyang's "initial action" in the nuclear deal -- but that has been delayed by a dispute over North Korean funds that were frozen in a Macao bank by US sanctions.

The money was recently returned to Pyongyang.

All rights reserved. © 2005 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.