U.S., N. Korean Envoys Hold Talks in Beijing

The United States and North Korea have held their first diplomatic contacts since Washington last year eased restrictions on the Communist country, the State Department said Wednesday.

The contacts involved two meetings in Beijing between political counselors of the U.S. and North Korean embassies, the first Dec. 6 and the second Tuesday, spokesman Charles Redman said. The two sides discussed security and political issues at both meetings, which were arranged through the Chinese, he said.

The Beijing meetings were held as U.S. analysts raised their estimate of North Korea’s military forces to more than 1 million, 160,000 higher than the previous estimate. Officials ascribed the increase partly to a buildup of ground forces and partly to improved methods of estimation.