N Korea says 'no' to more nuke talks

A North Korean delegate to just-concluded six-way nuclear talks in Beijing said yesterday he saw no need for further discussions despite an agreement by negotiators to meet again, but analysts dismissed the threat as posturing.

US Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly had told reporters earlier in the day the talks were productive but there was a long way to go before the crisis was defused.

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"We had a nice visit and a productive start. We have a long way to travel and don't know when we will be back here or whether it will be somewhere else," Kelly said. "But a peaceful solution is something we are going to work on."

The three-day talks ended on Friday with no major breakthrough, but the two Koreas, the United States, Russia, Japan and host China agreed to meet again within two months. No place or date was set.

But the North Korean delegate told reporters at the airport further talks were not necessary.

"There's no need to hold this kind of talks," the grim-looking delegate, whose identity was unknown, said. "We're no longer interested. Our expectations have diminished."

"We have concluded that the United States has no intention to switch policy but is trying to disarm (us) by using tricks," he said. "We have no other choice."

The head of the North Korean delegation, Vice Foreign Minister Kim Yong-il, did not make any comments and looked solemn, in stark contrast to his arrival on Tuesday when he smiled, waved at reporters and clasped his hands above his head.

Pyongyang has frequently used bluster when discussing its nuclear capabilities and analysts dismissed this latest threat as similar rhetoric.

"The contradiction is a maneuver and consistent with North Korea's pattern of behavior in the past," said Shi Yinhong, an expert on international relations at the People's University in Beijing.