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WASHINGTON - North Korea told the United States on Thursday it would test a nuclear weapon unless Washington accepted its proposal for a freeze on its atomic program, a senior administration official said.
Vice Foreign Minister Kim Gye Gwan spoke with Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly in a 21/2-hour private discussion in China, where a six-nation conference is being held on the long-running impasse over Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions.
The United States has been insisting on complete disarmament by the communist state and submitted a proposal to the conference on Wednesday outlining the benefits North Korea could get if it complies.
The conference ends today.
Kelly told Kim that there was little trust in Washington for North Korea and that Kim's statements wouldn't improve matters, the senior official told the Associated Press.
North Korea made a similar threat in a meeting between North Korean diplomat Ri Gun and Kelly 14 months ago in Beijing.The United States is demanding the complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantling of Pyongyang's weapons program.
It has been hopeful that the impoverished country would be willing to meet the demand in return for a brighter economic future for its people and broader diplomatic acceptance in the region and beyond.
During a closed plenary meeting on Thursday, North Korea demanded massive energy aid in exchange for a nuclear freeze, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported.
The report said Pyongyang asked for 2,000 megawatts of power per year - an estimated one-fourth of its consumption. In the United States, a megawatt can supply power to about 1,000 homes.
Other participants are China, South Korea, Japan and Russia. All agree with the United States that a denuclearized Korean peninsula is a worthy goal.