Tensions Rise as N Korea Abandons Nuclear Treaty

North Korea said it would withdraw from the nuclear non-proliferation treaty in a sharp escalation of its nuclear stand-off with the US.

The move appeared to dash hopes that a quick solution to the crisis might be achieved after the US said it was willing to talk to North Korea.

But the North appeared to be unhappy with the US stance that talks would be limited to how Pyongyang should dismantle its nuclear programme without the offer of further concessions.

North Korea had sought a non-aggression treaty with the US before abandoning its nuclear programme.

"North Korea is pursuing its classic tactics of ratcheting up the pressure," said a foreign diplomat in Seoul.

The North last month expelled UN nuclear inspectors from its nuclear facilities at Yongbyon, 80km north of Pyongyang, and said it was preparing to reactivate a nuclear reactor and plutonium reprocessing plant.

Pyongyang said it had no intention of developing nuclear weapons "at this stage."

The NPT withdrawal could trigger a decision by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN agency that polices the nuclear treaty, to refer the issue to the UN Security Council.

Pyongyang's announcement followed an ultimatum from the IAEA this week that the North should readmit the UN inspectors to Yongbyon.

North Korea has said it was ready to address concerns about its nuclear development programme, but only after the US guaranteed its security with written assurances.

George W. Bush, the US president, has only offered verbal assurances that the US has no intention of attacking North Korea.

In an official statement on Friday Pyongyang said: "If the US drops its hostile policy to stifle the DPRK (North Korea) and stops its nuclear threat to the DPRK, the DPRK may prove through a separate verification between the DPRK and the US that it does not make any nuclear weapon."

A similar threat by North Korea to pull out of the NPT in 1993 led to a 18-month nuclear dispute that was resolved when a US-led international consortium agreed to supply nuclear power plants and fuel oil in return for the North freezing its nuclear weapons programme.