Rice said that "it's time" that Pyongyang fully declare its nuclear programs under its obligations in a pact reached in six-party negotiations last year.

The agreement, involving the two Koreas, China, the United States, Japan and Russia, obliged Pyongyang to declare all its nuclear programs and disable its plutonium plant by the end of 2007.

"The US is ready to fulfill its obligations," Rice told reporters aboard her plane traveling to Santiago for an official visit. "North Korea needs to fulfill its obligations."

Earlier Friday in Geneva the chief US nuclear negotiator said he had held a "very good" meeting with the North Koreans, but did not reach a breakthrough on completely disabling Pyongyang's nuclear program.

"I would say there's been progress. But we are not there yet, and we still have to continue to work on this," Christopher Hill told reporters, after the talks with his North Korean counterpart Kim Kye-Gwan.

The United States is seeking to gain clarification on Pyongyang's suspected uranium enrichment program and alleged secret nuclear technology transfers to Syria.

Commenting on what the negotiators do next, Rice said: "My understanding is that they will now have to be some period of referral to capitals."

"And so I wouldn't expect anything immediate. But it's time to solve this issue of the declaration," she said.

Rice suggested that there are still fundamental differences between the two sides.

"I would say that is still a matter of substance," she said when asked about the slow pace of the talks.

Rice was on a three-day visit to Brazil and Chile for talks on trade and other bilateral issues.

earlier related report
US sees no breakthrough in NKorea nuclear talks
North Korean and US negotiators failed to reach any breakthrough in talks on Pyongyang's nuclear programme and do not plan to resume negotiations Friday, the chief US negotiator said.

"It was good consultations but we are not there yet," Christopher Hill told journalists late Thursday outside the US mission in Geneva after meeting his North Korean counterpart Kim Kye-gwan.

"We are going to report to our capitals," he said, adding there were no plans to continue the talks on Friday.

Earlier in the day, Hill had hinted the talks might be extended, but by late evening he simply said: "We had a long day of discussions, (and) we are in a better position now than when we arrived."

The two sides talked about a host of sensitive issues including uranium enrichment and humanitarian assistance, he added.

North Korea last year signed a landmark deal to abandon all its nuclear weapons in exchange for badly needed energy and economic aid and major security and diplomatic benefits.

But the process -- involving China, Japan, both Koreas, Russia and the United States -- has been stalled since the Stalinist state missed an end-2007 deadline to declare all its nuclear programmes and disable its plutonium plant.

Hill insisted earlier that Washington needed a full and frank declaration, and that verbal assurances would not suffice.

We cannot be flexible on the fact that we need a complete and correct declaration," Hill said.

"I don't think that verbal assurances to the US is really what does it," he added.

On Wednesday, South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan said he hoped that the meeting would produce some tangible results.

"A complete and correct declaration is a key to moving to the next stage rather than when the North will declare its nuclear facilities," Yu said.

At stake is a US call for North Korea to clarify its suspected uranium enrichment programme (UEP) and secret nuclear technology transfers to Syria.

Pyongyang, which conducted its first nuclear test in October 2006 with plutonium, has denied the existence of a separate nuclear programme based on a UEP and has rejected alleged links with Syria.

Hill and Kim met in Beijing last month in an effort to break the deadlock, but no progress was reported at the meeting.

Koh Yu-hwan, a professor at Seoul's Dongkuk University, said China might have played a role in resuming the US-North Korea talks.

"China has more leverage than before over North Korea as the North's chronic food shortages become all the more acute this year amid global food price hikes," Koh told AFP.

"And China needs a breakthrough before the summer Olympic Games in Beijing."

Community
Email This Article
Comment On This Article

Related Links
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com
Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com
All about missiles at SpaceWar.com
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS Solar Energy Solutions Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ... Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News