After two days of talks, the United States, Japan and South Korea have agreed that North Korea must end its nuclear weapons program, the State Department said Thursday.

S.Korean Assistant Foreign Minister Lee Soo-hyuk is pursued by reporters outside the State Department in Washington Aug. 14, 2003 after a meeting to forge a common strategy designed to induce N.Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons program. Japanese and S.Korean delegates left the building, saying only that the talks were over. There was no immediate statement. [AP]

Further formal meetings were not likely before negotiations with North Korea on Aug. 27-29 in Beijing, department spokesman Tom Casey said. Also joining the talks will be Russia and China.

North Korea is approaching the negotiations with a tough public line. On Wednesday, a foreign ministry spokesman demanded that the United States commit to a nonaggression treaty and normalize ties with the North.

The official also rejected any early inspection of North Korea's nuclear programs. That goal was reaffirmed by the United States, Japan and South Korea in their meetings at the State Department this week.

The North Korean foreign ministry spokesman said the United States must change its "hostile policy" toward the North as a precondition. He also said the United States must make clear that it does not obstruct economic cooperation between North Korea and other countries.

But the United States, South Korea and Japan intend to demand a verifiable end to North Korea's nuclear program.

Japanese reporters were told after the meeting that Tokyo intends to press North Korea to permit the return of families of those Japanese who were kidnapped decades ago for training as spies.

The United States and South Korea agreed to support Japan, according to Japanese officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Japan and North Korea are also discussing the abductions directly, and the United States has raised the issue in its own discussions with North Korea.

Amid reports of policy disagreement in the Bush administration, Secretary of State Colin Powell said Wednesday the United States wanted a new relationship with North Korea.

He said the administration was not offering economic assistance as an incentive for North Korea to end its program.

Powell has offered to put in writing assurances that the Bush administration does not intend to attack North Korea and have Congress note the assurance.

That implies a congressional resolution, but not the binding agreement with Senate ratification that North Korea appears to be demanding.

The reports suggested Powell's signal of written assurances was opposed by the Pentagon and members of Vice President Dick Cheney's staff.

Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly will head the U.S. delegation at the Beijing talks.

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