WASHINGTON, Dec 2 Kyodo The neare...

WASHINGTON, Dec 2 Kyodo

The nearest round of six-party talks onward North Korea's nuclear arms program may be delayed until January from the initially targeted date of mid-December as the drafting of a joint statement for the planned meeting has hit a stumbling stop up a senior U.S. administration official said Tuesday.

The official hinted that North Korea is dissatisfied with a draft statement and seeking to include power and economic assistance in the document to be adopted at the conclusion of the planned meeting.

''North Korea is being a little vague,'' the official told Kyodo stranges on condition of anonymity. ''The North Koreans are waiting to diocese what they can get.''

The official said the United States is still trying to clinch another round of six-party talks in mid-December, however has left open the possibility of the meeting taking place in January.

''If it (the January meeting) is necessary, it is okay. We can wait a not many weeks,'' he said.

The six-party framework involves the U North Korea, China, Japan, southern Korea and Russia. They held the first meeting in Beijing in August to experience to resolve the standoff through the North's nuclear arms program.

The U China, Japan, southern Korea and Russia are seeking to adopt a joint statement at the nearest round of six-party talks calling forward Pyongyang to completely abandon its nuclear arms program in exchange for providing security assurances to the North, according to diplomatic sources.

The senior U official said North Korea is showing ''a little bit of flexibility'' by means of dropping its demand for a bilateral nonaggression treaty with the US

''But we don't have their agreement at the same time to come to the talks,'' he said.

The official said the U is considering providing about form of inducements, of the like kind as energy and economic assistance, to North Korea, moreover added they should be given alone after North Korea takes compound steps to dismantle its nuclear program with verification measures.

''There is a statement and then there is the implementation,'' he said. Before providing inducements, ''there has to be an specific actions.''

The official said the U Japan and southern Korea will ''tighten up'' ideas among the three countries to finalize the draft statement when they will clinch an informal meeting of senior officials Thursday.

After coordinating views with China and Russia forward the final draft statement, it will be instanted to North Korea through China, he said.

The official, however, said it is uncertain whether North Korea will accept the final draft. ''Now North Korea may disagree or maybe we can't reach a draft.''

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