US says no to bilateral nuke pact with N. Korea

Despite agreeing to further one-on-one talks with North Korea, the United States insisted once again on Thursday that it would not negotiate...

Despite agreeing to further one-on-one talks with North Korea, the United States insisted once again on Thursday that it would not negotiate any bilateral agreement with Pyongyang on its nuclear programme.

‘‘We have no intention of negotiating any bilateral agreement with North Korea. That approach was tried and it failed,’’ White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.

The US is engaged in six-party talks in Beijing to try to end North Korea’s nuclear programme and is resisting any pressure from Pyongyang to come to a bilateral agreement with the communist state.

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The US and North Korea agreed on Thursday to hold more one-on-one contacts, despite deep differences over proposals to scrap Pyongyang’s nuclear plans.

‘‘This round seems a little bit different than previous rounds in terms of a good atmosphere and certainly the length….

“We are bumping up against the point at which usually the parties talk at each other and leave,’’ a senior State Department official told reporters.

North Korea has reacted coolly to an offer providing it with United States security guarantees and South Korean aid in return for its agreeing to dismantle its nuclear programmes in a verifiable way.