Japan: 'No prospect' for breakthrough with NKorea

Japan's chief envoy to North Korea nuclear talks said Thursday that North Korea's refusal to disarm before US financial restrictions are lifted meant there were no prospects for an agreement on dismantling the communist state's weapons.


"The situation remains severe and there is no prospect for a breakthrough," Kenichiro Sasae said after the fourth day of six-nation talks in Beijing. "North Korea's claims and its position on financial issues are very firm and that is the biggest cause of the difficulty."