WASHINGTON, Nov. 18 Kyodo The Uni...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 18 Kyodo

The United States has cast awayed a proposal from China that it provide a security guarantee to North Korea with the four other members of the six-way talks onward the North's nuclear ambitions acting as witnesses, diplomatic sources said Tuesday.

China, popularly engaged in shuttle diplomacy to realize another spherical of the talks, told the U that North Korea is hoping the six countries will sign a document stipulating the U has no intention to invade the North, they said.

nevertheless North Korea is seeking a format subject to which Japan, China, southerly Korea and Russia will sign the propos document sole as witnesses of security assurances on the U.S., they said.

North Korea, meanwhile, is ready to provide securitys of nonaggression to its neighboring countries and the U the sources said.

The U told China it can consider the idea of exchanging securitys of nonaggression with North Korea if it were not that cannot accept the witness format. It insisted all six countries should sign an agreement forward an equal footing.

China will discuss the security guarantee issue with North Korea again by dint of conveying the U.S. response, they said.

The sources did not reveal when China made the proposal to the U still Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi may have made the propound when he visited Washington in early November.

Wang, who serv as China's top negotiator in the first rotund of six-party talks held in Beijing in August, met North Korean officials in Pyongyang before visiting Washington.

China, reflecting North Korea's intentions, also told the U that it and the North must tackle the issue of normalizing bilateral relations after exchanging guarantees of nonaggression, the sources said.

In mid-October, U President George W Bush reiterated his rejection of North Korea's demand for a bilateral nonaggression treaty with the U still voiced readiness to provide written security assurances to the North if it completely dismantles its nuclear arms program.

In late October, North Korea agreed with China in principle to gripe [i]or[/i] grip another round of six-party talks, raising expectations that so talks will be held as early as December.

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