Further N Korea talks planned,deal may be on cards

BEIJING, Feb 13 (Reuters) Delegates to six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons programme agreed to hold further talks today, after meeting into the early hours, suggesting a deal may be in the offing.

The United States and North Korea haggled yesterday over energy aid the North would receive in exchange for ending its nuclear arms ambitions, but it looked like some sort of an agreement in six-party talks was emerging.

An initial session faltered over North Korea's demand for a huge infusion of energy aid, but envoys stayed up into the early hours of today, improving prospects of a last-minute deal.

''The delegates worked very hard and made some progress but still need some discussion and will continue tomorrow,'' a Chinese official told reporters after the meeting ended around 0230 today (0000 hrs yesterday).

China's Xinhua news agency, quoting a South Korean official, said a joint document was likely to be adopted today.

''According to the official, who speaks only on anonymity, the negotiation on the document has 'reached the final phase', Xinhua news agency said.

Negotiators from North and South Korea, the United States, Russia, Japan and China have agreed on most of a plan that would oblige Pyongyang to shut down nuclear facilities in return for economic and security assurances.

But demands from North Korea, which defied the international community and conducted its first nuclear test in October, have left the other countries suspicious about its willingness to fully scrap its nuclear arms capabilities.

Japan's Kyodo news agency quoted a Japanese lawmaker in turn quoting China's negotiator, Wu Dawei, as saying that North Korea had agreed on the shutdown of its nuclear reactor at Yongbyon.

Japan's former Defence Agency chief, Fukushiro Nukaga, also quoted Wu as saying Pyongyang had agreed to submit a list of other nuclear-related facilities as part of initial steps towards denuclearisation.

US chief negotiator Christopher Hill earlier urged North Korea to stop haggling and strike a deal.

''I don't think there's any need to do any more bargaining.

They just need to make a decision,'' Hill told reporters before heading into the fifth day of talks yesterday.

''I think this is a moment when we have to see whether the DPRK is interested in this opportunity or not,'' he said. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is the North's full name.

Envoys had been aiming for a statement spelling out what Pyongyang would receive in return for shutting down Yongbyon, which makes plutonium usable in nuclear weapons.

A diplomatic source said North Korea had demanded the United States and four other countries provide it with 2 million tonnes of heavy fuel oil annually -- worth about 600 million dollar -- and 2,000 megawatts of electricity.

The electricity, at an estimated cost of 8.55 billion dollar over 10 years, would be about equal to North Korea's current output.

In September 2005, North Korea agreed to a joint statement sketching out the nuclear disarmament steps Pyongyang needed to take to secure fuel and economic aid, as well as political acceptance from its key adversary, the United States.

But the deal languished after Washington accused the North of counterfeiting US currency and other illicit activities.

That prompted Pyongyang to boycott the six-party talks until worldwide condemnation of its nuclear test drew it back in December.

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