U.S. willing to hold direct talks with N. Korea

WASHINGTON - The Obama administration said Sunday it is willing to hold direct talks with North Korea over its nuclear weapons if it first resumes international negotiations.

Despite reports of his declining(衰退的) health, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il seems fully in charge of the reclusive communist country, White House national security adviser James Jones said.

Jones said former President Bill Clinton passed no official messages and made no promises during his mission last week to bring home two American journalists convicted of(犯有...罪) illegally entering North Korea and held in prison.