N. Korea talks stalled till '04, official says

WASHINGTON - North Korean demands and U.S. consultations with China, Japan and South Korea could delay resumption of six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program until next year, the Associated Press reported, quoting an unnamed Bush administration official as saying Tuesday.

The talks had been expected to convene Dec. 17, after China's vice foreign minister, Wang Yi, meets with North Korean leaders.

Wang met last month in Washington with Secretary of State Colin Powell and Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz. An initial round of multiparty talks was held in Beijing in August.

Since then, North Korea has made demands for concessions to be extended simultaneously with a drawdown of its nuclear program instead of after it had been shut down, the AP reported, quoting the unnamed official.

At the same time, the Bush administration is stepping up its consultations. A Chinese official held talks in Washington on Monday. South Korea's assistant foreign minister, Lee Soo Hyuck, will visit Washington today through Friday, and Mitoji Yabunaka, director of the Japanese Foreign Ministry, will hold talks Thursday through Saturday.

They also will meet Thursday with James Kelly, an assistant secretary of state, to discuss preparations for the next round of talks, State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said.

On Monday, North Korea rejected a major U.S. demand that it first renounce its nuclear program before receiving security guarantees from Washington.

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