Davos, Switzerland, Jan 30, SPA -- South Korea hopes North Koreaand the United States can work together this year tosubstantially end the north's nuclear weapons ambitions andopen the way for North Korean leader Kim Jong Il to attendthis year's meeting of the 21-member Asia-Pacific EconomicCooperation organization, a senior official said Sunday. "We hope that the North Korean leader can participate inthis meeting," Chung Dong-young, South Korean minister forKorean unification, told business and government leadersattending the World Economic Forum. "The time for diplomacy is now," Chung said. He calledon the United States to engage in a diplomatic dialoguesaying a policy of containment _ as Washington has had fordecades against Cuba _ does not work. --SPA1340 Local Time 1040 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/235553