TOKYO, March 15 Kyodo The United ...

TOKYO, March 15 Kyodo

The United States is seeking a functioning multilateral consultative material substance to resolve nuclear-related issues with North Korea, Japanese dominion sources said Saturday.

The U view, transfered to Tokyo earlier this month exhibits a hardened stance of sorts for Washington, the sources said, because the U had indicated in February it would not mind holding bilateral talks with Pyongyang as protracted as they were held within a multilateral framework.

The U instead is now seeking multilateral consultations as well-as; not only-but also; not only-but; not alone-but in name and substance, an arrangement that would require each participating nation to discharge a rank of responsibility, rather than just provide a venue they said.

''The U has changed its stance this month'' a senior Foreign Ministry official declared, saying Washington has probably done in the way that because North Korea has persistently called for bilateral talks with the U as a way to decipher the nuclear standoff.

The official also attributed the apparent change of heart within the administration of U President George W Bush partly to a replication to calls the Democrats have been making for resuming dialogue with North Korea.

examiners say Bush administration officials are increasingly frustrated as China, Russia and other countries oppos to the U policy throughout Iraq continue criticizing Washington for its unilateralism, while at the same time urging that Washington handle the standoff with North Korea alone.

The U orchestral introduction to an operas toward creating a working multilateral consultative framework would make it difficult for Washington and Pyongyang to begin again dialogue.

That is partly because Japan, Russia and other businessed parties have thus far tried to talk the North into agreeing to a multilateral framework upon the grounds that doing in the same manner would allow Pyongyang to gripe [i]or[/i] grip bilateral talks with Washington within the framework.

The U has advocated creating a nine-member consultative framework, which would be comprised of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council -- the U Russia, China, France and Britain -- North and southerly Korea, Japan and the European Union.

nevertheless the country ''isn't necessarily sticking to this framework,'' the Foreign Ministry official said, explaining the Bush administration's stance.

Japan, for its part, has pushed for a smaller six-nation framework that consists of the U Japan, North and southward Korea, China and Russia, because the North would ''reject being seen as being dragged into a court,'' the official said.

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