UN split over North Korea

UN split over North Korea

Pyongyang called the meeting an "excessive act"

The United Nations Security Council has expressed concern about North Korea's nuclear programme, but failed to condemn Pyongyang for pulling out of a key global treaty.

The US had hoped to persuade the UN to condemn North Korea but two other permanent Security Council members, China and Russia, have indicated they do not support such a move.

After the meeting the United States again stressed it wanted a peaceful solution to the six-month-old impasse.

The US ambassador, John Negroponte, said Pyongyang must give up its nuclear ambitions and accept a reliable verification regime.

Pyongyang will be officially free from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) on Thursday, having announced its withdrawal in January.

CRISIS CHRONOLOGY

16 Oct: US says N Korea admits to a secret nuclear programme

14 Nov: US halts oil shipments to N Korea

22 Dec: N Korea removes monitoring devices at Yongbyon nuclear plant

31 Dec: UN nuclear inspectors forced to leave

10 Jan: N Korea pulls out of anti-nuclear treaty

12 Feb: IAEA refers issue to UN Security Council

27 Feb: US says Yongbyon reactor restarted

March 2: N Korean jets intercept US surveillance plane in international airspace

10 March: N Korea fires second missile into sea

Timeline of tensions

The Security Council can issue a statement urging the North to reverse its nuclear proliferation, and ultimately has the power to issue sanctions.

Although Wednesday's closed-door meeting was inconclusive, the very act of the UN holding the discussion has riled Pyongyang, which called it an "excessive" response and a "prelude to war".

North Korea issued a blunt warning to its neighbour, Japan, just hours before the meeting in New York.

The official KCNA news agency said Japan should be "clearly mindful that it is also within the striking range" of North Korea's weapons.

Although the North regularly issues threatening rhetoric, it did fire a ballistic missile over Japan in 1998, and its latest warning will add to tensions in the region over its nuclear ambitions.

China believes the crisis can best be solved outside the Security Council, and backs North Korea's demand that it should have direct talks with Washington.

Washington has insisted the crisis should be solved through multilateral talks.

The crisis over the North's nuclear ambitions was referred to the Security Council by the UN's atomic agency in February, after it was deemed to be in "chronic non-compliance" with international agreements on non-proliferation.

The crisis was sparked last October by North Korea's alleged admission to the US of a secret nuclear weapons programme in violation of a 1994 pact.

It subsequently expelled UN inspectors and restarted a mothballed nuclear reactor at Yongbyon.

Since then it has pulled out of the NPT and test-launched two missiles.

South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun has announced he will visit US President George W Bush in Washington next month for their first face-to-face talks on the crisis since Mr Roh took office in February.