Washington, July 23: The United States has not offered North Korea a non-aggression guarantee in exchange for the Northeast Asian nation abandoning its nuclear arms programmes, the White House said. "Our position remains the same," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said in a press briefing adding that it was "correct" to describe such claims as inaccurate.
A leading American daily had quoted US sources as saying that the Bush administration is pushing for a multilateral meeting with South Korea, Japan and probably Russia to follow a bilateral meeting between US and North Korean officials, a date for which has yet to be established. "We still continue to seek a diplomatic solution working with the countries in the neighbourhood," McClellan said, stressing that "all options of course remain on the table."
He said the White House remains committed to "multilateral talks" and that Washington is confident progress on "key issues" can be made if talks are conducted on this basis. Bureau Report