REPLACES KOREA MISSILE ALERT North Korea has accused the United States of taking a hardline stance over a suspected nuclear site and of moving away from its policy of dialogue.

The statement by a spokesman for the General Staff of the North Korean Army comes before fresh talks on Friday over Washington's fears that North Korea is flouting an agreement to dismantle its nuclear programme.

The spokesman said recent reports of a new American military plan for the Korean peninsula were an indication of its agrressive intentions.

The United States has rejected North Korean demands for large sums of money in exchange for access to a suspect underground site near its nuclear facilities, which were frozen in 1994.