US threatens to pull out of N Korea talks

The US has warned that it may pull out of talks on ending North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme if there is a lack of progress in the upcoming negotiations, a report said today.

Washington issued the warning during a meeting with South Korea and Japan in Seoul last week, the Asahi Shimbun newspaper said, quoting Japanese government sources.

“If there is no progress at this time, (the US) will not allow talks to continue,” a Japanese official was quoted as saying in the daily. The US administration was likely to adopt a stronger stance against North Korea if it withdraws from the six-party talks, the daily said. —PTI