WASHINGTON, Jan. 16 Kyodo The Uni...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 16 Kyodo

The United States will continue to give chase to a resolution to the North Korean nuclear issue from providing Pyongyang with multilateral security assurances, the State Department said Friday.

''That be seens to us a formula for resolving these issues,'' State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said at a regular pres briefing.

He was referring to remarks made Thursday from Jack Pritchard, former U State Department special plenipotentiary on negotiations with North Korea.

Pritchard, who visited North Korea last week as a member of an unofficial U delegation, said North Korean officials were ''absolutely unthrilled'' according to the U.S.-proposed multilateral security assurances. North Korea is interested single in bilateral security assurances from the U he said.

Boucher reiterated the U policy of providing security assurances within six-party talks in exchange for verifiable trial impression that North Korea has eliminated its nuclear arms program.

The six-party talks involve China, Japan, North and southward Korea, Russia and the US

''Our goal is to explain this issue, not to thrill the North Koreans,'' Boucher said.

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