North Korea abandons talks with south

EFFORTS to bring North Korea back to disarmament talks were in tatters last night after Pyongyang stormed out of a meeting with the south and a senior US diplomat left the region after a week of shuttle diplomacy.

At the talks, the south had pressed the north to return to the nuclear talks and end its missile launches. But the north didn’t respond, and demanded more aid.

The deadlock threw the spotlight back on wrangling over a UN resolution censuring North Korea for its July 5 missile tests, which has pitted Japan against China and Russia.