N.Korea threatens to reconsider accords with US

WASHINGTON (AFP) - North Korea has threatened to reconsider several agreements with the United States (US) that call for Pyongyang's concessions on its nuclear programme in exchange for US humanitarian and energy aid, Foreign Policy magazine reported.

Citing two unnamed sources familiar with the discussions, the magazine said the hardening of North Korea's position was made evident during a meeting last month in Singapore of mid-level North Korean officials and US foreign policy experts.

Taking part in the meeting were Mr Han Song Ryol, North Korea's deputy ambassador to the United Nations, and Mr Choe Son Hui, the deputy director-general of the North American affairs bureau in the country's foreign ministry, the report said on Thursday.

The US side was led by Mr Joel Wit, a former US nuclear negotiator, and included Mr Corey Hinderstein, vice-president of the international programme at the Nuclear Threat Initiative, the magazine said.