Bush Admin meets ONE ON ONE with N. Korea

[Norquist Nemesis]

Is there a popping sound of RW heads exploding throughout the nation?
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/K/KOREAS_NUCLEAR?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=HOME

N. Korea, U.S. Meet on Nuclear Issues

By BURT HERMAN
Associated Press Writer

BEIJING (AP) -- The United States and North Korea on Tuesday stepped up diplomacy at international arms talks, meeting one-on-one to address the communist nation's nuclear weapons program and alleged financial crimes that have been an obstacle to the disarmament negotiations.

But U.S. officials gave no indications of any early breakthrough after the second day of the latest round of six-nation disarmament talks - which have failed over more than three years of meetings to prevent the communist nation from further developing its nuclear program that culminated with its first-ever atomic detonation on Oct. 9.

"We don't have really any breakthroughs to report," said the main U.S. envoy, Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill.

The North entered this week's talks restating a catalog of its long-held demands, emboldened as many experts predicted by its confirmed nuclear status - and raising doubts about an imminent resolution of the standoff that began in late 2002.

[npincus]

1. CNN too busy w/blanket coverage of Mount Hood rescue

to bother reporting such trivialites.