Secretary of State Warren Christopher on Thursday urged North Korea not to reload a suspect nuclear reactor and to reopen negotiations with the United States on replacing it. But the Korean delegation in Berlin rejected the offer to talk again.
"It is not an insoluble problem," Christopher said in proposing the talks be shifted to Geneva from Berlin and be held at a higher level. He would send Assistant Secretary of State Robert Gallucci to the Swiss city if the offer was accepted.But in Berlin, the chief North Korean negotiator, Kim Jong U, said the talks had collapsed and he was returning to North Korea. "Our delegation is leaving Berlin today," he said.
The North Korean said there would be no "high-level talks" in Geneva, like the ones that started the easing of tensions last year between the two countries. "We think everything that could be discussed in high-level talks has already been discussed and settled," he said.
There was no word from the North Korean capital in direct response to Christopher's offer.
"The U.S. side is to blame for the rupture, for the breakdown and the rupture of the current talks because of the unreasonable and unrealistic attitudes," U said.
The North Korean government will take "relevant action" according to the report he brings back home, the negotiator said without elaboration.
The key hurdle is a U.S. demand that North Korea accept South Korean reactors to replace the suspect 5-megawatt reactor frozen last year.
Asked about proposal he didn't like for a South Korean nuclear plant model to be used, U said, "The proposal put on our table does not have the safety features that North Korea is looking for."
"We cannot reach any kind of agreement at this round of the talks, due to the unrealistic approach of the U.S. delegation."
The talks in Berlin were suspended Thursday, and North Korea had declared today the deadline for concluding an accord. Christopher insists it is only a "target date" and that the two sides should take their time in reaching a good settlement.
Christopher consulted with Japanese and South Korean officials Thursday night.