NORTH/SOUTH KOREA: Inter-Korean talks stalled yesterday, with Seoul insisting on an explanation from Pyongyang after the North threatened it with "an unspeakable disaster" for siding with Washington in the nuclear stand-off.
The four-day economic talks in the North Korean capital which opened on Monday could end early if Pyongyang resorted to more intimidation, a government official said here.
"We are not going to walk out unless North Korea makes further threats," said Mr Kim Jung-Ro, deputy spokesman at South Korea's Unification Ministry, which handles North Korean affairs.
"But we do want an apology, or some sort of explanation, though an apology may be too much to expect."
North Korea in its turn demanded an explanation from South Korea for the joint statement released in Washington last Wednesday.
President Bush and South Korean leader Mr Roh Moo-Hyun said in the statement that they would not tolerate nuclear weapons in North Korea and agreed that "further steps" may be needed against Pyongyang.
The mention of "further steps" was widely taken as a reference to sanctions or even the possible use of military force.
A South Korean source in Pyongyang said the North seemed to be at a loss on how to respond to the South's "hardline" stance.
The source said the North was afraid of giving into "pressure" because they did not want to look as if they made concessions to get food aid from the South.
North Korea is in dire need of economic co-operation from the South, a euphemism for aid that has kept the bankrupt economy afloat in recent years.
On Tuesday, North Korea's chief delegate to the talks, Mr Pak Chang-Ryon, expressed Pyongyang's "deep regret" about the summit in his keynote speech, and said South Korea could be heading for "unspeakable disaster" if it followed the US line.
The attacks continued yesterday through Pyongyang's state-controlled media, with the ruling Workers' Party newspaper Rodong Sinmun slamming Seoul for signing a "treacherous" joint statement.