A Russian envoy who met recently with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il said Wednesday that Kim had told him that Pyongyang could return to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) provided his country faced no threat from the US, the Interfax News Agency reported.

Konstantin Pulikovsky, presidential envoy to the Russian Far East, met with Kim on Monday during a visit on the occasion of 60th anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japanese colonial rule.

(Chinadaily.com.cn via agencies, August 18, 2005)