WASHINGTON, July 13 (UPI) -- The United States Tuesday urged North Korea to seriously study its proposal for ending the current nuclear dispute.
"It's a thorough and comprehensive proposal (offering) a way of achieving the goal of denuclearization," U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher told a news briefing in Washington, adding, "And we still think it's very important for the North Koreans to study it seriously."
Earlier Tuesday, a North Korean official rejected an offer U.S. national security adviser Condoleezza Rice presented last week during a visit to South Korea. Rice offered a "surprising compensation" to North Korea if it gave up its nuclear program.
North Korea's Deputy Ambassador to the U.N. Han Sung-ryol, however, turned down Rice's proposition, saying Pyongyang was "not interested."
North Korea also had rejected an earlier U.S. proposal presented during the six-nation talks in Beijing late last month. That proposal included a three-month preparatory period to Pyongyang for dismantling its nuclear program.
Han said Washington had negotiated with Libya for eight months before the Arab nation abandoned its nuclear program. "There has been no such negotiations between the United States and North Korea," he said.
