N Korea, US still poles apart on eve of talks

The official was speaking at the end of two days of working-group talks to lay a foundation for the senior-level negotiations among the two Koreas, the United States, Russia, Japan and host China set to run from Wednesday to Saturday.

It was unclear whether progress toward ending the 20-month-old crisis over Pyongyang's nuclear programs could be made.

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Protagonists the United States and North Korea have given little sign of budging from their widely divergent positions.

"There was a consensus that at the plenary talks there should be specific discussions on a nuclear freeze accompanied by inspection as the first step of dismantlement," the South Korean official told reporters after the working-level talks closed.

"We believe that there will be authoritative and substantive discussions on elements of a freeze and other issues at the plenary talks," he said.