US gives nod to North Korea's nuclear disablement pact

WASHINGTON: The United States has approved a six-nation agreement in which North Korea will declare and disable its nuclear arsenal in return for energy aid and diplomatic and security guarantees, the State Department said on Wednesday.

"We have conveyed to the Chinese government our approval for the draft statement," department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters. China is the chairman of the six-party talks, which also involved the United States, the two Koreas, Russia and Japan, all of which agreed last week on a joint statement to push forward the North Korean disarmament deal.

The provisional agreement was then sent back to the governments for approval. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, the US pointman for the nuclear talks, returned home with the comprehensive document, which has been kept under wraps, for consultations with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

"We studied it, examined it and gave our approval to the Chinese. I can't speak for the status of the other countries," McCormack said. According to the North Korean envoy to the six-party talks, the statement would reflect North Korea's demand to be taken off a US list of terrorism-sponsoring states, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported.

"The timeline was specified in the joint statement," Kim Kye-Gwan told reporters in Beijing, according to Yonhap. But Japan denied that such a timeframe had been agreed to.