US envoy rules out six-way talks on North Korean nuclear programme

A senior United States diplomat ruled out the quick resumption of the six-nation talks on North Korea yesterday, citing no sign from Pyongyang that it intends to halt its nuclear programme.

Glyn Davies, the US special representative for North Korea, said after meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Wu Dawei , and Deputy Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui , that both China and the US "share an interest" in resuming the talks. But he said Pyongyang has to show its commitment to end nuclear proliferation.

"The principal obstacle has been the lack of not just interest, but meaningful steps by North Korea to demonstrate that they understand that it has to move up to its obligations and commitments," Davies told reporters. "We call on North Korea to take seriously its obligations."

The remarks appeared to show that Washington and Beijing remain divided over how to deal with Pyongyang, even though both have demanded the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.

Beijing has long called for the resumption of the six-party talks, which also include Japan, Russia and South Korea, without preconditions to resolve North Korea's nuclear issue. But Washington remains sceptical of Pyongyang's desire to dismantle its weapons programme.

Zhang Baohui , a security specialist at Lingnan University in Hong Kong, said the differences between the US and China on how to handle Pyongyang would be difficult to resolve.