North Korea rejects US nuclear proposals

North Korea today rejected a US-backed proposal on ending a crisis over its nuclear weapons programme, and warned that Washington’s “strategy of delaying talks” would only prompt it to step up its nuclear activities.

The main state-run newspaper Rodong Sinmun said it was rejecting the plan because it required North Korea to abandon its nuclear programme and did not promise “simultaneous” security assurances from the US.

“If the United States insists on us acting first, the six-nation talks would be nothing but an area for empty talks,” Rodong said.

“If the United States wants a complete, verifiable and irrevocable dismantling of our nuclear programme, we also have the right to demand a complete, verifiable and irrevocable security assurance from the United States.”

The US and its allies sent a blueprint for resolving the nuclear dispute to Pyongyang last week.

Officials did not divulge details of the plan, but news reports said it sought the complete, verifiable and irrevocable dismantling of the North’s atomic weapons programme along with security assurances for Pyongyang.

“The United States’ strategy of delaying talks will only lead us to continue to strengthen our nuclear deterrent force,” Rodong’s commentary, carried by Pyongyang’s official KCNA news agency, said.

The US and its allies in the region want to persuade North Korea to end its nuclear programmes through six-nation talks.

The first round, held in Beijing in August, ended without much progress.