Powell restated the consistent US refusal to offer the Stalinist state such a formal pact as a way out of the crisis, noting that President George W. Bush has repeatedly said he has no plans to invade the Stalinist state.

But he suggested during a session with foreign reporters that Washington could provide some kind of security assurance to Pyongyang, especially if it eventually emerged from six-party talks on the showdown expected within the next two months.

"What we have said is there should be ways to capture assurances to the North Koreans from not only the United States, but we believe from other parties in the region that there is no hostile intent among the parties that might be participating in such a discussion," Powell said.

"When one comes up with such a document, such a written assurance, there are ways that Congress can take note of it without it being a treaty or some kind of pact," he said.

"A resolution taking note of something," Powell said, suggesting a form of action Congress could pursue, short of ratifying a treaty.

Some observers have suggested that one way out of the North Korean crisis might be to frame a new set of East-Asia security guarantees, encompassing not only North Korea and the United States, but China, Japan and other powers.

As Powell spoke, a Chinese diplomatic delegation was in North Korea to fine-tune policy approaches ahead of the six-way talks.

Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yia, who is considered a candidate for Beijing's chief delegate to the talks, is leading the delegation on its three day visit, according to China's official Xinhua news agency.

North Korea has said the talks, involving Russia, Japan, the United States and the two Koreas would take place in Beijing, but details and timings are still being discussed.

President George W. Bush's national security advisor Condoleezza Rice said Thursday that the administration was satisfied that its strategy of involving regional powers in the search for a solution to the crisis was the correct one.

"It's a tough regime to deal with and heaven knows it's an opaque regime," Rice said in Dallas, Texas.

"But we're fairly sanguine that if you're going to get this done, it's going to have be in coordination with other states."

South Korean officials have said discussions at the Beijing meeting could be dominated by how and in what form the United States provides a security commitment to North Korea.

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