Koreas, China, U.S. Plan Talks

Preparatory talks aimed at bringing peace to the Korean Peninsula will be held in New York on Friday involving the United States, China, North Korea and South Korea, the State Department announced Monday.

U.S. officials said they hoped that this round of talks will lead to the start of full-blown peace talks in Geneva in December, when the four countries are expected to try to replace the 1953 armistice that ended the Korean War with a formal treaty.

Meanwhile, U.S. officials said Monday that North Korea is facing a series of worsening food crises that still cannot be characterized as a famine. The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they concluded after a nine-day trip that overall economic conditions, not natural disasters, were responsible.

They said the North Koreans blame natural disasters and are confident they can overcome their food difficulties. Nevertheless, they recognize they must make some economic changes now that they can no longer depend on help from the former Soviet Union.