U.S. stalls energy aid to North Korea

BEIJING, Dec. 13 (UPI) -- The U.S. government says it will stop providing fuel to North Korea after efforts to persuade the country to agree to a nuclear verification process collapsed.

Yonhap News Agency reported that the U.S. State Department said fuel shipments to North Korea won't go forward.

"This is action-for-action. The North Koreans have not come through and signed onto the verification protocol, which all other parties have agreed. Therefore, those fuel shipments aren't going forward," State Department spokesperson Sean McCormack was quoted as saying

The chief American nuclear negotiator, Christopher Hill, will continue his consultations with his South Korean, Japanese, Russian and Chinese counterparts, McCormack said.