SEOUL, KOREA: The incoming Barack Obama administration will engage North Korea directly without pre-conditions to persuade the communist state to abandon its nuclear ambitions, Yonhap News Agency reported citing a policy plan issued by the presidential team.

"Obama and Biden will pursue tough, direct diplomacy without preconditions with all nations, friend and foes," said the Obama-Biden Plan posted in the web site of the transition team.

"They will do the careful preparation necessary, but will signal that America is ready to come to the table and is willing to lead."

The policy direction is in line with Obama's campaign pledge that he will meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il without any conditions attached.

Obama dismissed Republican rival John McCain's criticism at a presidential debate last month that it is naive to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il without preconditions, saying Bush's reluctance to deal directly with North Korea resulted in the North's detonation of its first nuclear device in 2006 and the quadrupling of its nuclear weapons to eight by the end of Bush's eight years in office.

Obama will likely send a prominent figure as his special envoy to Pyongyang soon after his inauguration on 20 Jan to prepare for a possible visit there himself to make a breakthrough in the on-and-off multilateral nuclear talks that began in 2003, according to some reports and analysts.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak on Sunday (16 Nov) supported Obama meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il to persuade the North to abandon its nuclear ambitions, saying "It would be better for President-elect Obama to meet with Chairman Kim Jong-il personally if it is helpful to North Korea's abandonment of its nuclear weapons."

The Obama-Biden Plan also said that "If America is willing to come to the table, the world will be more willing to rally behind American leadership to deal with challenges like confronting terrorism and Iran and North Korea's nuclear programs."

The plan suggested that the Obama administration will "use tough diplomacy -- backed by real incentives and real pressures -- to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and to eliminate fully and verifiably North Korea's nuclear weapons programme."

In one form of pressure, the Obama government "will crack down on nuclear proliferation by strengthening the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty so that countries like North Korea and Iran that break the rules will automatically face strong international sanctions," it said.

"Obama and Biden will forge a more effective framework in Asia that goes beyond bilateral agreements, occasional summits, and ad hoc arrangements, such as the six-party talks on North Korea," it added. (The Korea Herald/ ANN)