Free Republic

North Korea has called for Russia's participation in talks on Pyongyang's nuclear problem, generating hopes of overcoming the stalemate. The North Korean Ambassador, Pak Ui Chun, met with the Deputy Russian Foreign Minister, Yuri Fedotov, on Thursday to convey Pyongyang's support for "six-sided talks with the participation of Russia on resolving the current complex situation on the Korean peninsula," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The statement also quoted the envoy as saying that Pyongyang "was making active efforts toward their (the talks) realisation." In Washington, a White House spokesman also said the U.S. wanted South Korea, Japan...

<p>WASHINGTON — Faced with underwhelming support from the United Nations for a U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, President Bush and his two most steadfast allies headed for Portugal's Azores archipelago for a brief emergency summit.</p> <p>Bush departed early from the Camp David retreat where he spent the weekend, flying more than halfway across the Atlantic Ocean to huddle for less than five hours with British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar. The three-way summit in Azores was billed as the final push for a diplomatic solution to disarming Saddam.</p>