Kerry sets out N Korea talks offer

The United States and Japan have offered new talks with North Korea to resolve the increasingly dangerous stand-off over its nuclear and missile programmes, but said the reclusive communist government first must lower tensions and honour previous agreements.

North Korea has a clear course of action available to it, and will find "ready partners" in the United States if it follows through, secretary of state John Kerry told reporters.

Japan's foreign minister, Fumio Kishida, who appeared with Mr Kerry at a news conference, was more explicit, saying that North Korea must honour its commitment to earlier deals regarding its nuclear and missile programmes and on returning kidnapped foreigners.

The officials agreed on the need to work towards a nuclear-free North Korea and opened the door to direct talks if certain conditions are met.

Their comments highlight the difficulty in resolving the North Korean nuclear situation in a peaceful manner, as pledged by Mr Kerry and Chinese leaders in Beijing on Saturday. Gaining China's commitment, Mr Kerry insisted, was no small matter given Beijing's historically strong military and economic ties to North Korea.

The issue has taken on fresh urgency in recent months, given North Korea's tests of a nuclear device and intercontinental ballistic missile technology, and its increasingly brazen threats of nuclear strikes against the United States.

US and South Korean officials believe the North may deliver another provocation in the coming days with a mid-range missile test.

"The question," Mr Kerry said, "is what steps do you take now so we are not simply repeating the cycle of the past years." That was a clear reference to the various negotiated agreements and UN Security Council ultimatums that North Korea has violated since the 1990s.

"We have to be careful and thoughtful and frankly not lay out publicly all the options," Mr Kerry said.

Given their proximity and decades of hostility and distrust, Japan and South Korea have the most to fear from the North's unpredictable actions. Mr Kerry said the US would defend both its allies at all cost.