N. Korea Says Aim Is No More Nukes

Six-Nation Nuclear Disarmament Talks Begin In Beijing

(AP) 
In a nod to Pyongyang, Hill said if North Korea "permanently, fully and verifiably" dismantles its nuclear programs, the U.S. and other countries would offer measures "consistent with the principle of 'words for words and actions for actions."' That principle was contained in a statement at the end of the last round of talks in June 2004 and been repeatedly invoked by North Korea as one of its demands.

The talks are the first in which Hill is representing Washington, and he is believed to have more room for negotiating than his predecessor, James Kelly. In a departure from previous meetings, Hill met his North Korean counterpart on Monday ahead of the official opening of the talks.

The U.S. and North Korea held another meeting later Tuesday after the talks opened, a U.S. Embassy spokeswoman said on customary condition of anonymity. No details of their discussion were released.

Also Tuesday, the chief Japanese envoy, Kenichiro Sasae, talked briefly with the North Korean diplomat Kim following the opening session, Japan's Kyodo News agency reported. It cited an unidentified Japanese official and didn't give any details of the conversation.

The latest nuclear standoff with North Korea erupted in late 2002, when U.S. officials accused the communist nation of running a secret uranium enrichment program.

Since then, the North has pulled out of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and taken steps that would allow it to harvest more radioactive materials for atomic bombs. In February, the North publicly claimed it had nuclear weapons, but it hasn't performed any known tests that would confirm it can make them.

At the talks' opening, South Korea's envoy, Deputy Foreign Minister Song Min-soon, repeated Tuesday his nation's offer of massive electricity aid to the North if it agrees to disarm.

In Seoul, South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young told a meeting of the ruling Uri party that discussions on details of the electricity offer to the North could begin as soon as Pyongyang agrees to abandon nuclear weapons. However, he conceded North Korea would likely make a counterproposal to Seoul's offer — which experts point out would effectively place control of the North's power supply in its capitalist rival's hands.

North Korea has demanded aid and security guarantees from Washington in exchange for giving up its nuclear weapons. The United States says it won't offer concessions until North Korea's nuclear weapons program is verifiably dismantled.

Another issue that could complicate the arms talks is Japan's concerns about its citizens abducted by the North.

South Korea's main delegate Song appeared to issue a warning Tuesday to Japan not to derail the negotiations, saying it "would definitely not be desirable to take up issues that would disintegrate the focus of the talks."