In Washington, a senior government official says the United States will try to find one unified voice by which to resolve North Korea's nuclear standoff.

The official expressed hope that under a common voice, the participants of the six-way nuclear talks would stress that if Pyongyang makes any further provocative steps in terms of its nuclear programs, it would only lead to its further isolation in the international community. Such a unified stance would reportedly give the communist state an opening for detente if it decides to dismantle its nuclear weapons program and return to the negotiating table.

The official said that President George W. Bush plans to separately meet with the leaders of the participating countries of the six-way nuclear discussions on the sidelines of the APEC forum in Chile this weekend to press Pyongyang to return to the stalled nuke discussions.

In particular, during his summit meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao, Bush is expected to urge Beijing to persuade Pyongyang to abandon all of its nuclear programs, including those involving uranium enrichment and plutonium.