U.S. and China Are Split Over North Korea’s Nuke Offer

The United States and China are in dispute over North Korea’s offer to freeze its nuclear activities as part of a solution to its nuclear standoff with the U.S., making the outlook of a second round of six-party talks bleak, the Kyodo News Service reported on Saturday.

The U.S. insists the North’s proposal should include all nuclear activities, both before and after a 1994 U.S-North Korea accord, but China maintains it should only cover those in the post-pact period. North Korea wants economic assistance and regime security in specific terms in return for its offer to freeze its nuclear program at the next six-way talks.

In the meanwhile, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney said at the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) at Davos, Switzerland that it is too early to predict a possible outcome of the six-way talks.