NEW YORK (AFX) - The United States has demanded that North Korea come clean about its highly enriched uranium program, despite indications that US intelligence overstated Pyongyang's efforts to pursue such a program.
"They need to come clean on it, explain what they have been doing, why they have been doing it, and ultimately they need to abandon it," US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said.
Hill also said North Korea had reportedly made "massive purchases of expensive equipment" to drive the highly enriched uranium program.
"I think we are owed a pretty clear answer why all these purchases were made and how far they have gotten into the process," Hill said at a Japan Society forum in New York on the sidelines of negotiations aimed at normalizing US-North Korean diplomatic relations after Pyongyang agreed to freeze a key nuclear facility in return for largely energy aid.
Hill met with his North Korean counterpart Kim Kye-gwan on Monday before hosting his visitor to dinner at New York's grand Waldorf Astoria Hotel. The two were to resume talks today.
It was the highest level meeting held in the United States between the two nuclear rivals since October 2000.
Hill said yesterday's meeting was aimed at setting the pace for bilateral relations, including North Korea's possible removal from a US list of state terrorism sponsors.
"These were some preliminary discussions," Hill told reporters after the four-hour talks.
The bilateral talks meet a long-standing condition set by North Korea for abandoning its nuclear ambitions, and are aimed at smoothing implementation of a landmark agreement reached with Pyongyang on February 13.
Under the accord, North Korea agreed to close and seal its Yongbyon nuclear facility -- long suspected to be the centre of its nuclear program -- within 60 days and admit UN nuclear inspectors in return for 50,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil.
The talks also coincide with a burgeoning controversy in Washington over the reliability of US intelligence on North Korea and whether Washington overstated Pyongyang's efforts to enrich uranium in 2002.
US intelligence officials defended their work over the weekend but said that while they had high confidence Pyongyang tried to enrich uranium in 2002, they had only moderate confidence it was still pursuing the goal.
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