No headway in six-party N. Korean talks
(outlookindia.com)
Updated: 2005-11-10 00:04

 The six-party talks on the Korean nuclear issue made scant progress on the second day here today with serious differences reported between Cold War rivals United States and North Korea on a roadmap to dismantle Pyongyang's atomic weapons programmes.

North Korea must halt its nuclear weapons programme immediately to show that Pyongyang is taking the six-way negotiations seriously, the chief US negotiator Christopher Hill said on the second day of six-party talks here.

"You know how you build up trust? You live up to the agreement ... You can build up trust through actions," Hill, also US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs told reporters.

"The time to stop that reprocessing, the time to stop the reactor, is now," he said, referring to the North Korea's reactivated nuclear plant at Yongbyon.

The United States alleges that Yongbyon plant continues to operate since the September 19 Joint Statement, in which North Korea agreed to dismantle its nuclear programmes in exchange for aid and security guarantees.

Hosts, China said no agreement has been reached how to move ahead on implementing the September 21 Joint Statement, which was issued by all the six nations - the United States, North Korea, South Korea, China, Japan and Russia.

"Up to now, we have not reached a general consensus on the general framework," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told reporters while noting that various sides held bilateral meetings as well as a plenary session today.