US recognises N.Korea as a "sovereign nation"

BEIJING, Tuesday (AFP) - The United States said Tuesday it recognised North Korea as a "sovereign nation" and was ready to address Pyongyang's security concerns as it called for a full and verifiable dismantling of the North's nuclear weapons.

"The United States is prepared for serious negotiations in the six-party framework," said chief US delegate Christopher Hill.

"We view the DPRK's sovereignty as a matter of fact. ... And we remain prepared to speak with the DPRK bilaterally in the context of these talks." The Democratic Peoples' Republic of Korea is North Korea's official name.

Hill added that North Korea had nothing to gain from possessing nuclear weapons. He repeated that the United States has no intention of attacking North Korea and called for it to dismantle its nuclear weapons "fully and verifiably".

"Nuclear weapons will not make the DPRK more secure and in fact on the contrary, nuclear weapons on the Korean peninsula will only increase tensions in the region and threaten the integrity of the global non-proliferation regime.

"The six-party talks offer a better future for the DPRK.

"When the DPRK makes the decision to dismantle its nuclear program permanently, fully, verifiably, other parties including my country are prepared to take corresponding measures consistent with the principle of words for words and actions for actions."

North Korea has long urged the United States to recognise it as a sovereign state, establish diplomatic relations and provide assurances of non-aggression for progress to be made at six-party talks that began here Tuesday. Hill said the United States was ready to address concerns about security and aid.

"All the parties have made clear we are prepared to address the DPRK's security concerns. We've made clear we're prepared to address the DPRK's energy needs," he said.

Earlier South Korea's Deputy Foreign Minister Song Min-Soon urged North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons ambitions and called on the United States to normalize relations with Pyongyang.