Nuke talks with N. Korea hit roadblock

WASHINGTON – North Korea balked Thursday at agreeing to a written plan for verifying its nuclear claims, handing President Bush a diplomatic defeat and the incoming Obama administration a new diplomatic headache.

Thursday, Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill told reporters in Beijing that the four days of talks had failed because North Korea “was not ready to reach a verification protocol with all the standards that are required.” But U.S. officials acknowledge that most of the purported agreements announced two months ago were simply verbal understandings between Hill and his North Korean counterparts.

Many experts believe North Korea has refused to commit to a written verification plan because it can renegotiate the whole issue with the incoming Obama administration, allowing Pyongyang to seek more concessions.