Beijing: North Korea on January 3 said it does not trust US President George W Bush and asked Washington to agree to sign a non-aggression pact with it and not to put any pre-conditions for opening a dialogue on Pyongyang's secret nuclear weapons programme.

"To solve the North Korean nuclear issue peacefully, the United States should dialogue face-to-face with no pre-conditions and sign a non-aggression treaty to provide a legal guarantee for the safety of North Korea," Pyongyang's Ambassador to China, Choe Jin Su told reporters.

"The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) is willing to talk with the United States for a peaceful solution on the North Korean nuclear issue," Choe said a day after China and South Korea held talks on North Korea's nuclear issue.

Terming the nuclear issue as "at its most grave moment", he said the situation has arisen because the United States waived its obligations under the North Korea-US agreed framework of 1994 and suspended the supply of heavy fuel oil to Pyongyang. "Under such conditions, North Korea had to lift the nuclear freeze and ask the UN nuclear inspectors to leave Pyongyang."

Describing as "Cold War-style thinking" the US stance which "frightened" North Korea, Choe said he did not believe President George W Bush's statement that he was not interested in attacking the North.

"North Korea cannot believe these words," he said. "All the time they say they have no intention to attack the DPRK by military devices, but who can believe these words?"

PTI