N. Korea Nuke Talks Extended

Talks on ending North Korea's nuclear program will continue beyond a Saturday deadline that had been set for negotiators to respond to a new draft agreement affirming Pyongyang's right to peaceful nuclear activities after it disarms.

It wasn't immediately clear how all six countries involved in the talks had responded to the new draft and some had said there was dissatisfaction with it, but the Chinese media center for the negotiations, being held in Beijing, said meetings would continue Sunday.

All chief envoys were also set to attend a dinner Saturday evening hosted by Vice Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo.

Earlier Saturday, the main U.S. envoy declined to comment on whether Washington approved of the new proposal. The North on Friday had steadfastly refused to give up its nuclear program without any concessions from the United States, a stance that puts it at odds with Washington.

"The Chinese have given us a text to react to, some ideas, so we're looking at those and having some internal discussions and talking with people in Washington," U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said Saturday morning.

"We'll see where we go," he said. "We've had a fairly fast pace for the last 24 hours and I think that will continue for the next 24 hours."

Seeking to break the deadlock, host China proposed that North Korea retain the right to a civilian nuclear program after abandoning its weapons, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Alexeyev said Friday.

The proposal contains "compromise wording which could satisfy both sides," Alexeyev said, referring to the United States and North Korea.

However, Japan's envoy to the talks said none of the participants were completely happy with the new draft.

"All the participants concerned have some points that they are unsatisfied with," Kenichiro Sasae, director of the Asia and Oceania Bureau at Japan's Foreign Ministry, said Saturday. "We are not necessarily satisfied."

"I don't think that we can see the prospects for reaching an agreement yet," Sasae told reporters.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had earlier implied the United States was losing patience with the North, saying in a newspaper interview that Pyongyang had just a few days to show its willingness to disarm.

Rice spoke with Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing by telephone about the nuclear talks and the recent meeting between leaders of the two countries, China's official Xinhua News Agency said Saturday.

The North has been offered economic aid, security guarantees from Washington and free electricity from South Korea in exchange for dismantling its weapons program.

But Pyongyang vowed anew Friday not to give up its atomic program without getting concessions first.

"We will never give up our nuclear" program before the U.S. nuclear threat is removed from the Korean Peninsula, North Korean spokesman Hyun Hak Bong told reporters, referring to Pyongyang's claims that it needs nuclear arms to defend itself.

"We will just do it our way. For us, we cannot stop our way of peaceful nuclear activities for one minute," Hyun said, reading from a written statement.

Hyun did not react directly to China's proposal, aimed at breaking a stalemate over Pyongyang's demand that it be given a nuclear reactor to generate power, a demand the United States rejects.

The North also blasted Washington's contention that it first give up all nuclear programs, saying the United States "should not even dream" about the North accepting such "brigandish" demands.

North Korea has demanded it be given a nuclear reactor for generating electricity before disarming. But Washington has insisted the North cannot be trusted with any nuclear program, given its history of pursuing atomic bombs.

Hyun said Pyongyang would be willing to see the nuclear reactor co-managed and that it would be open to international inspections.