US, NKorea seek compromise in nuclear deadlock

The North stopped disabling its main nuclear facilities in mid-August, rejecting a U.S. insistence that the regime should undergo a thorough inspection of its declaration of nuclear programs. Washington's top nuclear envoy visited Pyongyang last week to resolve the impasse, but it was unclear whether it produced any breakthrough.

But on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan told a South Korean parliamentary committee that Washington and Pyongyang were trying to strike a compromise by exerting "flexibility" and "considerably reflecting each other's position."

However, Yu said he believes the U.S. would not make any substantial change in its demand for a rigorous nuclear verification. He did not elaborate.

Yu said the nuclear talks were at an "important crossroad" as it would be U.S. President George W. Bush's last chance to resolve the issue before he leaves office in January. But he said the North's suspension of disablement work posed "a serious obstacle."

Yu also said the U.S., South Korea and other countries involved in the disarmament talks were expected to announce their positions on the latest dispute in a few days, after reviewing details of U.S. envoy Christopher Hill's trip to the North.

In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said Tuesday that China--the North's key ally and aid provider--supports continuous contacts between Washington and Pyongyang, adding Hill's trip to the North was "helpful."

"China supports the continuous communication and contact between the U.S. and DPRK and we believe Mr. Hill's visit is helpful," Qin told reporters. DPRK stands for Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's official name.

Upon returning from Pyongyang, Hill briefed South Korean and Chinese officials about his North Korea trip before flying back to Washington.

North Korea began disabling its main nuclear complex north of Pyongyang last November as part of an aid-for-disarmament pact with the U.S., South Korea, China, Russia and Japan. The North, however, stopped the disablement work and began reassembling the facilities in protest at Washington's refusal to remove it from a blacklist of state sponsors of terrorism.