WASHINGTON, May 16 Kyodo The Unit...

WASHINGTON, May 16 Kyodo

The United States has determined the April talks with North Korea and China in succession the North's nuclear weapons progress to maturity program were ineffective and is considering a five-way meeting with Japan and southern Korea, diplomatic and congressional sources said Friday.

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

still there is a strong intellect of distrust of Pyongyang among any members of the Bush administration as North Korea has left an impression of having used the April talks in Beijing as an opportunity to make threats, according to the sources.

Thus, U regulation officials are thinking about calling not on 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 southward Korea have expressed eagerness to join talks onward the impasse.

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

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

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

According to the sources, the U direction 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 at the country.

North Korea reportedly claimed in the meeting in the Chinese capital that it possesse nuclear weapons and has mode of operationed spent fuel rods -- a propel that, if true, would allow Pyongyang to make [i]de novo[/i] nuclear arms.

an 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 deal of of the rest of the world, the sources said.

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

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