Envoy says North Korea boycotts nuclear talks

SEOUL (Reuters) - The chief U.S. envoy to multilateral talks on ending North Korea's nuclear programs said on Thursday Pyongyang was boycotting the discussions, but urged patience for the stalled process.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill held no substantive discussions with North Korean nuclear envoy Kim Kye-gwan in Tokyo this week when the two were in the Japanese capital for a private security forum -- dashing hopes for renewed progress in the six-party nuclear talks.

The other chief envoys in the talks were also in Tokyo, with most attending the same forum.

"They (the North Koreans) are boycotting the six-party process," Hill told reporters prior to meetings with South Korean Foreign Ministry officials.

The last round of talks between the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States took place in November. The negotiations have hit a snag over a U.S. crackdown on firms it suspects of aiding North Korea in illicit activities.

Pyongyang has since stayed away from the negotiating table, saying it would be unthinkable to return when Washington is trying to topple its leaders through pressure. Washington, Seoul and others have said the financial issue is separate from the talks and urged Pyongyang to return.

Hill left Tokyo on Wednesday, saying Washington cannot wait forever but still urging patience in the process. He kept to the same line in Seoul and said the process was far from over.

"There is a lot on the table," Hill said. "I think we all have to be a little patient here."

North Korea was building nuclear weapons because of the what it saw as a hostile policy toward it from Washington, its communist party newspaper said on Thursday.

"We can't help going toward strengthening our self-defensive nuclear deterrent if the Bush administration continues to go mad with their hostile policy toward the DPRK," the North's KCNA news agency said in a report in Korean carried on the South's Yonhap news agency.

In September, North Korea, officially known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, agreed to dismantle its nuclear weapons programs in exchange for economic aid, security assurances and greater diplomatic recognition.

But the most recent session in November, aimed at formulating a plan to implement that deal, yielded no progress.

(With additional reporting by Yoo Choonsik)