NEW YORK, June 11: The much-delayed talks between the United States and North Korea began today, a day after Washington announced plans to sell for the first time shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles to the South Koreans.The three-day talks starting today will focus on North Korean missile activities, including reports that the reclusive Communist government is preparing to deploy long-range Rodong I missiles capable of hitting South Korea and much of Japan.

US officials claim North Korea has sold long-range Scud missiles to Iran and Syria. Washington wants North Korea to join an international agreement to restrict exports of such weapons.

``We've had a number of concerns -- reports -- of North Korean transfers of equipment and technology to other countries,'' State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns said on Monday. We felt it was important to meet with them to talk about these.''

The American side will be headed by Robert Einhorn, a deputy assistant secretary. North Korea's delegation will be led by Li Hyon Chol, director of the ministry of foreign affairs.

On the eve of the talks, the Pentagon announced plans to sell South Korea $ 307 million worth of Stinger missiles and launchers to help the Seoul government protect itself from unwarranted aggression.''

The deal is for 1,065 Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, plus spare parts and related materials. The US is the largest military supplier to South Korea and has discouraged its Seoul allies from buying Russian-made air defence missiles.

The missile talks are the latest in a series of diplomatic contacts between the US and North Korea in a bid to defuse one of the world's last potential flashpoints from the cold war.

In March, the US and South Korea met with North Korean representatives in New York to urge the Communists to accept four-power talks to end the state of war which has existed on the divided Korean peninsula since the end of the Korean conflict in 1953.

Those talks would include China. But the North refused to accept the offer until Washington guarantees additional aid to help solve its food crisis.Last month, US and North Korean officials met here to discuss the issue of American service members missing in the Korean war.

The missile talks were to have been held last month but were postponed at the North's request. They are a follow-up to an initial round held in Berlin in April 1996.

A second round of those talks was to have been held in July 1996. But the North refused to attend to protest Washington's continued economic and other sanctions against the Communist country.

But North Korea's food crisis has apparently encouraged the government to expand contacts with Washington .

Meanwhile, the US Army has unveiled in Seoul the mock-up of a prototype rocket launcher of incredible power -- a weapon that is as lethal as three 155 mm Howitzer battalions.

Termed as high mobility rocket system (Himars), it is scheduled for two years of field testing beginning in January and if Congress appropriates funds, it should be in the army's inventory by 2004, Pacific Stars and Strips reported.

Himars was designed with rapid deployment in mind, said Capt David Johnson, chief of a team that brought the weapon to Korea for display last week from the United States.

``It is wheeled, and we can put it in a C-130 (transport aircraft) just as it is configured and get it to the battlefield with the initial forces,'' he said.

The system is mounted on a 5-ton truck that can travel at 60 miles per hour and has a range of about 600 miles. Its mobility is a big plus on the battlefield. It can be driven to the firing point and moved back for reloading.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.