Get out of nuclear business, US tells North Korea

BEIJING, Nov 30 (Reuters) The United States urged reclusive North Korea today to get out of the nuclear business and rejoin a treaty that aims to curb the spread of nuclear weapons.

US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said North Korea had some tough decisions to make ahead of a resumption of talks on its nuclear weapons programme, expected in mid-December.

North Korea agreed to return to the talks -- which also involve South Korea, the United States, host China, Japan and Russia -- after its first nuclear test last month triggered UN-backed sanctions.

''We want to make sure they make some progress,'' Mr Hill told reporters in Beijing before flying to Tokyo en route to Washington after two days of talks with his North Korean and Chinese counterparts.

''They must get out of the nuclear business and into the NPT,'' he said, referring to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, which North Korea quit in 2003.

Mr Hill also indicated the talks this week had been fruitful.

The US team, ''working with the Chinese consistently throughout'', had shared ideas with the North Koreans, he said.

The US embassy added: ''The DPRK promised to study these ideas.'' North Korean envoy Kim Kye-gwan was also amicable, though still adamant about not giving up the country's nuclear programmes.

''The results to come will eventually surface after time goes by, and that is part of the diplomatic progress,'' he told reporters after a one-hour meeting with South Korea's envoy at a Beijing restaurant.

''... about giving up nuclear weapons, we cannot unilaterally give them up,'' Mr Kim added.

Back in Washington the administration of President George W Bush kept up the pressure on Pyongyang with a list of luxury items it would seek to block under UN trade sanctions that included cognac, cigars and jet skis.

''While North Korea's people starve and suffer, there is simply no excuse for the regime to be splurging on cognac and cigars,'' Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said.

''We will ban the export of these and other luxury goods that are purchased for no other reason than to benefit North Korea's governing elite,'' he added in a written statement.

Mr Kim has long been known for his fondness for cognac and is said to have a wine cellar with space for 10,000 bottles.

South Korean intelligence officials familiar with his habits say the biggest gifts among his cadres are cars, with Mercedes-Benz the top choice. Pianos and camcorders are also popular.

US officials argue that if the elite directly feel the sting of international outrage, it could loosen Kim's control.

''It's a creative idea. Somebody's got a sense of humour over there'' at the Commerce Department, said William Reinsch, a former senior Commerce Department official who administered trade restrictions with North Korea for former President Bill Clinton.

''I don't think it'll do any good, but it'll certainly send a message,'' he said.

The UN Security Council has already voted to ban military supplies and weapons shipments -- sanctions already imposed by the United States. It also prohibited sales of luxury goods but left each country to define such items.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency said North Korea wanted sanctions dropped and the United States to free the North's overseas bank accounts as preconditions for dismantling its nuclear programme.

US officials have said they want North Korea, without condition, to stand by last year's agreement in which it said it was committed ''to abandoning all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programmes''.

In return, the other nations held out economic, political and security incentives.

REUTERS AKJ DS1130