UNITED NATIONS -- North Korea said Wednesday it might end the standoff over international nuclear inspections if U.S. officials agree to high-level talks, a condition immediately rejected by Washington.
North Korean Foreign Minister Kim Young Nam said the hard-line Communist regime right now doesn't have to answer to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
"To eliminate our special status, talks should be convened between the United States and North Korea," he said during a visit to Ukraine.
State Department spokesman David Johnson said Wednesday night: "We remain interested in a negotiated settlement, but it's up to the North Koreans to re-establish the basis for our dialogue. The statements we've seen fall far short."
Earlier, another spokesman, Christine Shelly, indicated it was too late for high-level talks: "Events have unfolded in a way that do not provide the basis for proceeding with that."
U.S. officials had agreed to a North Korean demand for talks until North Korea barred U.N. inspectors from observing a nuclear reactor refueling.
Shelly said North Korea had "crossed the point of no return" by unloading virtually all the 8,000 fuel rods from its nuclear reactor at Yongbyon, destroying any evidence that inspectors could have used to determine whether weapons-grade nuclear material had been taken from the rods.
The refueling process is almost complete, but IAEA spokesman David Kyd said the nuclear threat isn't immediate.
"We have no indication that the North Koreans are anticipating doing anything with this fuel in a matter of days," he said. "Weeks or months - that is another matter."
There is concern that if it disregards safety procedures, North Korea can produce the plutonium weapons fuel by the end of the year.
"We will not acquiesce in North Korea's failure" to meet nuclear treaty obligations, U.N. Ambassador Madeleine Albright said at Harvard University. The ability to make nuclear weapons would only "weaken" North Korea's security, she said. She reiterated the United States will be "steadfast" in protecting ally South Korea.
U.S. officials plan to seek sanctions as a "disincentive for further backsliding," she said.
But no firm plans were presented to the council Wednesday. "The diplomatic option remains open," Albright said.
