Two Republican senators on Sunday called for direct talks with North Korea aimed at easing a nuclear standoff.
Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said direct talks, which the Bush administration refuses, are “inevitable if this is to be resolved diplomatically.”
Calls for such talks have grown louder following North Korea’s nuclear test Oct. 9.
The administration says it will only have such talks during six-nation negotiations meant to persuade North Korea to abandon its nuclear programs. Those talks have been stalled for nearly a year.
Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the “issue is serious enough . . . that I think we ought to use every alternative, including direct bilateral talks.”
