Beijing talks produce only draft agreement on Korean nukes

SIX-NATION disarmament talks on North Korea ended yesterday without an expected agreement, and with envoys instead opting to send a detailed, draft plan on shuttering the North’s nuclear programmes to their governments for approval.

The four days of talks, which began on an optimistic note after North Korea agreed to disable its programs by year’s end, were supposed to set specifics for the disabling, among other issues.

Envoys described the talks as recessed, and host China said that they may reconvene in 48 hours depending on what the six governments — China, the US, Japan, Russia and the two Koreas — decide about the draft blueprint.