Korea/U.S. concensus over North Korean nuke energy

Korea reaches concensus with U.S. over North Korean nuke energy

South Korea's top diplomat said he has bridged differences with the United States over whether North Korea should be allowed to maintain a nuclear energy program after dismantling its nuclear weapons capabilities.

“We reached sufficient consensus,” Ban Ki-moon, minister of foreign affairs and trade, told reporters on Wednesday after a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Washington. “I did not use such an expression before I came here.”

Ban, who has held a series of consultations on the nuclear issue since arriving in the U.S. on Saturday, appeared to be satisfied with the U.S. position. But he offered few details about the content of the talks with Rice.

The foreign minister also met U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and intelligence chief John Negroponte before heading to New York to talk with U.N. officials.

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