N Korea threatens to test bomb

North Korea has threatened to test a nuclear weapon unless Washington accepts Pyongyang’s conditions for a freeze on its atomic programme, jeopardising disarmament talks, a senior US official said in Beijing.

North Korea called on the United States to make a “responsible, bold decision” during six-nation talks on the dispute today, following reports that Pyongyang demanded massive energy aid in exchange for the freeze.

Two previous rounds of talks have made little headway, and the North Korean threat of a nuclear test suggested the latest round may be unsuccessful, said a senior US official in Washington.

The other participants are South Korea, China, Japan and Russia.

The United States insists on complete disarmament by the communist state.

It submitted a proposal to this week’s conference outlining a step-by-step plan and the benefits North Korea could receive if it complies.

Today, the North renewed a demand for the United States to drop its “hostile policy” though it made no public response to the US proposal.

There was no indication of when North Korea might carry out its threat to test, which the senior US official said was made during a two hour private meeting on Thursday between US Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly and North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Gye Gwan.

The United States thinks North Korea has at least one or two nuclear weapons, with the potential for several more.