US, China clash over UN N. Korea statement
(AFP/AP)
Updated: 2005-09-30 06:45

The statement said North Korea's demand for light-water reactors would be considered at an "appropriate" time.

The North has since warned it would not dismantle its nuclear arsenal until the United States delivered light-water reactors to allow it to generate power, casting doubt over its commitment to the statement.

The United States wants North Korea to first dismantle its nuclear arms program before its get incentive bonuses, the top US envoy to the six-party talks said in Washington Wednesday.

Christopher Hill said he had rejected a demand by Pyongyang for an interim period allowing a freeze of their nuclear operations ahead of the dismantlement.

"I am not interested in having a discussion with them about freezing this operation," Hill said, citing a US-North Korea accord in 1994 which Pyongyang allegedly reneged on after agreeing to freeze its nuclear program in exchange for energy assistance and other concessions.

The six-party talks are to resume in early November to discuss verification and other measures.

North Korea's violation of the 1994 Agreed Framework triggered a nuclear crisis in October 2002, when the United States accused Pyongyang of running a secret uranium-enrichment program.

North Korea denied the claims, but responded by throwing out IAEA inspectors and withdrawing from the NPT, which authorizes the IAEA monitoring.

In February this year North Korea admitted having built nuclear weapons.

The IAEA's 35-nation board of governors had last week "urged the DPRK (North Korea) to completely dismantle any nuclear weapons program in a prompt, transparent, verifiable and irreversible manner, maintaining the essential verification role of the IAEA," in a statement from the board's chairwoman, Canadian ambassador Ingrid Hall.

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