N. Korea to delay talks with South

Pyongyang: 'U.S. spreading false rumor'

North Koreans attend a rally Tuesday in Pyongyang calling for a stronger national army

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There is an increasing danger of a nuclear war on the Korean peninsula -- KCNA, North Korean state news agency VIDEO Thomas C. Hubbard, U.S. ambassador to South Korea, tells CNN's Sohn Jie-Ae that the United States is willing to talk but not negotiate with North Korea. PLAY VIDEO The U.S. says it's ready to open dialogue with North Korea over their nuclear standoff, but the shift in U.S. policy comes with conditions. CNN's Andrea Koppel reports. PLAY VIDEO RELATED • Beijing pushes for diplomacy  • U.N.: N. Korea has 'just weeks'  • Diplomats pile pressure  • South Korea's key role  • Interactive: North Korea's nuclear facility  • Special Report: The Two Koreas

PYONGYANG, North Korea (CNN) -- North Korea has proposed postponing ministerial talks with the South one day after the U.S. agreed to talk to Pyongyang over its nuclear program.

Seoul had suggested holding the ministerial talks in the South's capital on January 14-17, but the North has asked to postpone them by one week, giving no reason for the proposed delay.

Pyongyang has so far not responded to Washington's offer of dialogue, but a state-radio dispatch said the U.S. position is contradictory as "it won't give us a legal guarantee against military attack."

North Korea also accused the United States of spreading a "false rumor" about its nuclear "issue" in an attempt to hurt inter-Korean relations.

"There is an increasing danger of a nuclear war on the Korean peninsula due to the U.S. criminal policy toward the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea)," according to the statement released Wednesday from Pyongyang's Korean Central News Agency.

"The U.S. is deliberately spreading a false rumor about the DPRK's 'nuclear issue', in particular, in a bid to vitiate the atmosphere of inter-Korean reconciliation and unity and foster confrontation among Koreans," the statement said.

Previously, the United States said it would not talk directly with North Korea about the 1994 non-proliferation agreement until Pyongyang fulfilled its obligations under the framework.

Now Washington has indicated that it is prepared to talk to North Korea, but only about the obligations that already exist under the 1994 framework.

"We're not going to provide any quid pro quos for North Korea to live up to its existing obligations," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher told reporters Tuesday.

"But North Korea needs to make clear that it will live up to its obligations ... and we are willing to talk about how North Korea can do that," he said.

The United States, South Korea, and Japan opened the trilateral talks Monday on how to defuse the quickly escalating impasse with North Korea, which kicked out nuclear inspectors last week and has shown no signs of cooperating with the international community by ending its nuclear weapons program.

The countries agreed to meet again soon, but no date was set.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il is being pressured to adhere to obligations under a 1994 anti-nuclear agreement. Under that pact, Pyongyang agreed to abandon its nuclear weapons program in return for aid from the United States, Japan and South Korea.

Pyongyang maintains it was forced to restart its nuclear plants to provide fuel after Washington stopped sending fuel shipments to North Korea, which it said was a violation of the agreement.

However, Washington says it stopped sending the fuel after North Korea disclosed it had a nuclear weapons program in October.

Deadline

President Bush said Tuesday he believes "diplomacy will work," and he reiterated that the United States has no plans to attack North Korea.

"We have no aggressive intent, no argument with the North Korean people. We're interested in peace on the Korean Peninsula," Bush said.

In another development, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said North Korea has just weeks to readmit weapons inspectors before the matter is referred to the Security Council (U.N.: N. Korea has 'just weeks')

In the joint statement following the end of the trilateral talks, the United States, South Korea and Japan expressed their support for the resolution adopted by the IAEA.

"There is no security rationale for North Korea to possess nuclear weapons," the nations said in a written statement.

The U.S. delegation also repeated President Bush's statement that the United States poses no threat to North Korea and has no plans to invade that country.

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