North Korea demands direct talks with US
Seoul: North Korea pressed the United States
to accept its demand for direct talks on the communist
regime's nuclear programme, issuing a veiled threat on Monday that
Pyongyang will expand its nuclear arsenal unless Washington
agrees.
The statement came as North Korea's No 2 nuclear
negotiator, Ri Gun, wrapped up a rare trip to the US, where he
met with the chief American nuclear negotiator, Sung Kim, amid
media speculation the two discussed bilateral negotiations.
North Korea has demanded direct talks with Washington
since conducting a series of nuclear and missile tests and
quitting six-party nuclear negotiations involving China,
Japan, the two Koreas, Russia and the US earlier this year.
"As the (North) was magnanimous enough to clarify the
stand that it is possible to hold multilateral talks including
the six-party talks depending on the talks with the US, now is
the US turn," North Korea's Foreign Ministry said, according
to Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency.
"If the US is not ready to sit at a negotiating table
with the (North), it will go its own way," the ministry said.
North Korea's Foreign Ministry did not elaborate in the
statement carried by state media, which appeared to be a
threat to enlarge its nuclear arsenal.
North Korea agreed in 2007 to disable its nuclear
facilities - as a step toward its ultimate dismantlement - in
exchange for energy aid and political concessions. Pyongyang
halted the process and later abandoned the pact after
receiving most of the promised energy aid and concessions.
Bureau Report