No agreement at N Korea talks

North Korea's nuclear programme has caused an uproar

By Charles Scanlon BBC correspondent in Tokyo

The United States has been unable to reach full agreement with regional allies over how to put pressure on North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons programme.

The three countries are "committed to...a common position"

Senior US envoy James Kelly held the talks with Japanese and South Korean officials in Tokyo on Saturday to co-ordinate strategy.

They called on the communist state to dismantle its recently revealed uranium enrichment facilities which could be used to manufacture nuclear warheads.

But there was no disguising the gulf between them over what to do next.

Confrontation fears

The US wants to cut off aid to North Korea, following its admission that it has been cheating on agreements to give up its nuclear ambitions.

But South Korea and Japan worry that sanctions will force North Korea into a corner and provoke a dangerous confrontation.

A joint statement after the meeting said the three countries were committed to seeking a common position, but a Pentagon official has conceded there was a fundamental disagreement.

A monthly shipment of fuel oil paid for by the US is currently on its way to North Korea.

US officials say that North Korea must not be rewarded for its nuclear threats, but Washington has opted for a diplomatic strategy and for that to be successful it needs wholehearted support from North Korea's neighbours.

South Korea is continuing to discuss economic co-operation with the North, and Japan is preoccupied with the return of Japanese citizens kidnapped by North Korean agents in the 1970s.