N. Korea: Time On Our Side

Russia and China tried to broker new talks on the North Korean nuclear crisis Friday amid warnings from Pyongyang that every delay gives the communist nation more time to build a bigger and better atomic war chest.

Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov returned from a two-day visit to Beijing on Friday and said China and Moscow were trying to encourage dialogue between North Korea and the United States.

But Ivanov added Russia and China were not planning any joint action on North Korea's nuclear program other than coordinating efforts on the six-nation talks, the Interfax news agency reported.

The United States, China, Russia, Japan and the two Koreas have been trying for months to restart another round of six-nation talks on persuading North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program. A first round ended in Beijing in August without much progress.

Ivanov said China and Russia want to work toward a nuclear-free Korean peninsula.

The developments come a day after an American who recently visited North Korea said he was told that the communist government sees every delay in negotiations as a chance to strengthen its "nuclear deterrent."

Charles Pritchard, a former State Department official, met the North Koreans last week as part of a private visit that included a trip with American colleagues to the country's main nuclear site at Yongbyon.

Speaking Thursday in Washington, Pritchard said he was told by North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan: "Lapses of time will result in quantitative and qualitative increases in our nuclear deterrent.

"Time is not on the U.S. side," Kim reportedly said.

North Korea has insisted it needs nuclear weapons as a deterrent against a possible U.S. attack, given the Bush administration's policy of preemptive action.

But the North says it will freeze its nuclear programs as a first step in talks if Washington lifts sanctions against the North, resumes oil shipments, and removes North Korea from the U.S. State Department's list of countries that sponsor terrorism.

The United States has responded that North Korea must first verifiably begin dismantling its nuclear programs before receiving any concessions.

The nuclear dispute flared in October 2002 when U.S. officials accused North Korea of running a secret nuclear program in violation of a 1994 deal requiring the North to freeze its nuclear facilities. Washington and its allies have since cut off free oil shipments, also part of the 1994 accord.

In response, the North threw out international inspectors and vowed to reprocess fuel rods into material for bombs.

The CIA believes the North already may have one or two crude nuclear devices.

South Korea, meanwhile, chose a new foreign minister, restoring stability to its diplomatic corps after an upheaval over how to balance Seoul's relations with North Korea and its biggest ally, the United States.

Ban Ki-moon, a 60-year-old former vice foreign minister, was named as the new top diplomat after Yoon Young-kwan rattled the nation Thursday by resigning as minister.

Yoon's resignation was seen as bolstering the influence of presidential aides who preach greater independence from the United States.

President Roh Moo-hyun's National Security Adviser Ra Jong-Yil said Thursday that Ban's appointment was "not going to affect our alliance" with the United States, adding that "there is not going to be much difference" in the administration's foreign policy.

Ban, a 60-year-old career diplomat, served as vice foreign minister during the government of Roh's predecessor, former President Kim Dae-jung, who initiated the "sunshine" policy of seeking reconciliation with North Korea.

Promising not to "kowtow" to Washington, Roh took office last year promising greater openness to the North.

The U.S. has 41,000 troops stationed in South Korea, and their presence sometimes irritates Koreans.