A US scientist says North Korea would be willing to disable its main nuclear facility under an agreement that could emerge from six-country talks this week, but not on the permanent basis the United States is demanding.
David Albright, a nuclear expert who visited Pyongyang last week, said chief North Korean negotiator Kim Kye-gwan was "optimistic" an initial deal, freezing plutonium production at the Yongbyon complex, could be reached when talks resume tomorrow.
In exchange for the freeze and the return of UN inspectors, the North wants electricity from China, South Korea or Russia or substantial quantities of heavy fuel oil.
It also wants removal from the US list of terror-sponsoring countries, said Mr Albright, head of the Institute for Science and International Security.
Although the two countries have not had formal relations since after the 1950-53 Korean War, the North's main strategic goal is improved ties with the United States, Mr Albright said.
Pyongyang has demanded resolution of a dispute with the United States that has frozen North Korean accounts worth $24 million that Washington says are connected to counterfeiting and other illicit activities.
Another round of discussions involving North Korea, the United States, South Korea, Japan, Russia and China will take place in Beijing.
While Pyongyang is willing to freeze nuclear fuel production, it has refused to halt weapons production, arguing that the fuel already has been incorporated into weapons, Mr Albright said.
Other potential stumbling blocks include the its refusal to give UN inspectors access to plutonium stockpiles or to the site where it conducted its first nuclear test on October 9 thlast year.
Pyongyang also has not agreed to a moratorium on nuclear testing and has warned that if Washington freezes other North Korean bank accounts, it "would respond by strengthening its nuclear deterrent," Mr Albright said.