Norht Korean Whining

Six-Party Talks on North Korea Turn Sour

By KWANG-TAE KIM

BEIJING (AP) - Talks on North Korea's nuclear programs turned sour Thursday as Pyongyang demanded that Washington lift sanctions against firms suspected of weapons proliferation and stop accusing the North of counterfeiting U.S. money, news reports said.

North Korean delegates accused the United States of undermining a September agreement in which Pyongyang pledged to disarm in exchange for aid and security guarantees, the South's Yonhap news agency reported, citing unidentified officials.

The North also voiced displeasure over President Bush's reference to a "tyrant" in North Korea - widely seen as a slap at its leader, Kim Jong Il, Yonhap said.

The disputes cast a pall over the talks between the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia. South Korean officials told Yonhap that progress had become difficult.

The U.S. negotiator, Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, said the demands fell beyond the scope of the six-party talks.


"They made clear that they are not happy," Hill said late Thursday. "But I made very clear that I don't do financial sector regulations."


Washington imposed sanctions in October on eight North Korean companies accused of acting as fronts for sales of banned missile, nuclear or bioweapons technology. The order froze any assets in areas under U.S. jurisdiction, but it wasn't clear whether that had any impact because the United States bans trade with North Korea.


The United States also accuses North Korea of producing high-quality counterfeit $100 bills known as "supernotes."


Diplomats say the talks this week - the fifth in a series - are meant to focus on contentious details of how the North would verifiably disarm, and what it would get in return.


Washington and Seoul were pressing the North to suspend nuclear development after Hill accused Pyongyang of operating a reactor that produces plutonium - a fuel for bombs.


"The continued (operation) of nuclear facilities has to be suspended," said South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Song Min-soon.


Hill accused the North of continuing to operate the Yongbyon reactor despite a Sept. 19 pledge to give up nuclear development.

"Every day that goes on, the amount of plutonium theoretically can increase, so that's our concern," Hill said. "That means that we have a bigger problem than when we ended on Sept. 19. And I think the time to stop reprocessing, the time to stop that reactor, is now."

South Korean diplomats proposed what their government calls a roadmap to disarmament. "We spelled out what kinds of steps are needed to advance the implementation plan," Song said.

He declined to give details or confirm reports of the North's new demands.

Yonhap said one measure being considered was for the North to suspend operation of the Yongbyon reactor and plutonium reprocessing if Washington lifts some sanctions, including its designation of Pyongyang as a terrorism sponsor.

"I don't think we are here now to make a roadmap," Hill said. "We only have a three-day session, so essentially we are just gathering ideas and having an opportunity to discuss the ideas, but we are not trying to come to any final decisions."

China says it expected the talks to run until Friday, then recess to let diplomats attend a mid-November Asia-Pacific economic conference in South Korea.

The two years of talks have proceeded slowly, fitfully and amid deep distrust. North Korea refuses to disarm completely without getting concessions along the way, while Washington wants to see the weapons programs dismantled before granting rewards.

The U.S. has rejected North Korea's demand to be given a civilian nuclear reactor until it returns to the international Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and accepts safeguards from the International Atomic Energy Agency.