The chief US negotiator in the six-party talks said Tuesday that Pyongyang's demand for civilian nuclear power is not a "show-stopper" and some kind of compromise on the issue is possible, said a Washington Times report on Wednesday.

 

Although Christopher Hill insisted that North Korea does not need nuclear energy, he indicated that the US is trying to address the issue with more flexibility than before, the report said.

 

"I think we can come up with something. But I cannot be more specific than that because we are in the middle of a negotiation," the report quoted Hill as saying.

 

Speaking earlier Tuesday, Hill played down Pyongyang's demand for a civilian reactor, calling it a "theoretical, downstream" matter that is "not a major stumbling block."

 

Hill conceded that, for some in the six-party talks -- notably South Korea and Russia, the issue is whether North Korea "could then reclaim a right to nuclear energy," the report said.

 

South Korea said on August 11 that the North has the right to a peaceful nuclear program, a view in apparent conflict with the US. However, both the US and South Korea have since tried to brush aside any conflict between the two allies.

 

Negotiators from China, the US, Russia, Japan, South and North Korea held a 13-day negotiation in Beijing from July 26 to August 7, seeking a settlement to the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula.

 

According to an agreement reached by all parties, the fourth round of six-party talks will resume next week in Beijing.

 

(Xinhua News Agency August 25, 2005)