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N Korea nuclear talks enter fourth day
North Korea nuclear talks continued for a fourth day on Thursday with little hope of a breakthrough.
- Agencies
- Published: 09:03 December 11, 2008
Beijing: North Korea nuclear talks continued for a fourth day on Thursday with little hope of a breakthrough.
Six countries – the United States, Russia, Japan, South and North Korea and host China – are meeting to urge North Korea to halt their nuclear program.
But little progress has been made in pushing North Korea to to accept a protocol for checking its nuclear declaration.
The chief US negotiator, Chris Hill, said there was no sign of agreement with Pyongyang after three days of the latest talks.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported the negotiators would gather for more six-way talks on Thursday morning. But as he prepared to join other negotiators at the Diaoyutai state guesthouse, Hill said he was unsure of the format.
"As soon as the Chinese [hosts] decide what to do, I'll let you know," Hill told reporters, adding that the lack of progress reflected North Korea's unwillingness to set out its commitments in an agreement.
"Obviously we would like to see progress made on this verification protocol, and so far we haven't seen that ... It's the same old problem. The North Koreans don't want to put into writing what they are willing to put into words."
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