N. Korea nuclear talks continue

BEIJING, Dec. 10 (UPI) -- Negotiators meeting in Beijing on North Korea's nuclear disarmament resumed talks Wednesday, seeking a breakthrough on thorny verification issues.

The six-party talks among negotiators from host China, the United States, Russia, Japan and the two Koreas, which were to have ended Tuesday, continued Wednesday to find an acceptable way to inspect North Korea's nuclear arsenal under the disarmament-for-aid formula.

The talks also deal with completing the disabling of the Communist country's main nuclear reactor in Yongbyon and setting a new delivery timetable for energy aid to the North, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported.

"I think we will work on modifying a draft deal distributed by China yesterday to reflect each party's positions," South Korean negotiator Kim Sook was quoted as saying.

He said the negotiators were trying to reach agreement "by clearing misunderstandings triggered by ambiguous expressions and replacing them with expressions that are as clear as possible."

U.S. negotiator Christopher Hill was quoted as saying his government had more suggestions on the draft.

One of the sticking issues in the talks, which resumed after being stalled for months, is whether sampling will be used to inspect the North's nuclear facilities, Yonhap reported.

The United States says taking samples at these sites is part of the verification process but North Korea says sampling isn't part of the agreement. The U.S. government already has removed North Korea form its list of terrorism sponsors.