US no to N Korea bilateral talks

North Korea demanded bilateral talks with the United States over its nuclear weapons program but Washington quickly rejected the idea on Fri...

North Korea demanded bilateral talks with the United States over its nuclear weapons program but Washington quickly rejected the idea on Friday and insisted Pyongyang return to six-party negotiations.

‘‘There’s plenty of opportunities for North Korea to speak directly with us in the context of the six-party talks,’’ said White House spokesman Scott McClellan. North Korea said on Thursday it had acquired nuclear weapons to boost its defenses in the face of US hostility and the policy of the White House to seek ‘‘regime change,’’ and said it would not return to the multilateral talks.

A North Korean diplomat at the United Nations said in an interview published on Friday: ‘‘If the United States wants to talk to us directly, it can be seen as a sign of a change in the US hostile policy toward North Korea.’’

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McClellan insisted President George W. Bush will stick to the negotiating format in which the United States, China, South Korea, Japan and Russia negotiate with North Korea. The six parties have held three rounds of talks since August 2003 and the process has stalled. Countries around the globe had urged North Korea to return to talks on ending its nuclear program after it said it had nuclear weapons and pulled out of the disarmament discussions.

North Korea also sent message of solidarity to Iran late on Thursday on the 26th anniversary of the Islamic Republic to praise its success in working to defend its sovereignty.

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