WASHINGTON, May 16 Kyodo The Unit...

WASHINGTON, May 16 Kyodo

The United States has determined the April talks with North Korea and China upon Pyongyang's nuclear standoff were ineffective and is considering a five-way meeting with Japan and southern Korea, diplomatic and congressional sources said Friday.

President George W Bush and southern Korean President Roh Moo Hyun reaffirmed Wednesday in their summit talks in Washington they will search for a peaceful resolution and dialogue with North Korea forward the matter.

on the other hand there is a strong reason of distrust of Pyongyang among a certain quantity of members of the Bush administration as the reclusive nation has left an impression of having used the April talks in Beijing as an opportunity to make threats, according to the sources.

Thus, U dominion officials are thinking about calling opposite to the trilateral talks and instead promptly arranging the five-party meeting aimed at urging North Korea to ditch its nuclear program, the sources said.

Japan and toward the south Korea have expressed eagerness to join talks onward the impasse.

However, whether Pyongyang would agree to dialogue subordinate to a multilateral framework remains to be seen as it earlier adamantly maintained that the nuclear issue is a bilateral matter between it and Washington.

If North Korea refuses to take part in the five-way talks, related countries may begin to consider the possibility of having the UN Security Council deliberate forward imposing economic sanctions against the home the sources said.

Bush is look fored to take up this issue when he is scheduled to possess talks with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi at his Texas ranch nearest Friday.

According to the sources, the U sway has concluded North Korea used the same tactic of intimidation used in the past in its remarks during the trilateral talks, and does not foresee signs of compromise by the agency of the country.

North Korea reportedly claimed in the meeting in the Chinese capital that it possesse nuclear weapons and has actioned spent fuel rods -- a put in motion that, if true, would allow Pyongyang to make new nuclear arms.

one U.S. officials still think the trilateral talks should be resum to assess the real intention of North Korea, which remains largely mysterious to a great quantity [i]or[/i] amount of of the rest of the world, the sources said.

However, others are questioning the effectiveness of continuing talks subject to the same trilateral setting unles North Korea agrees to reply immediately to calls for the ''complete verifiable and irreversible elimination'' of its nuclear weapons program, they said.

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