By Reuben Staines
Staff Reporter

A Japanese official said Friday that nations involved in stalled negotiations over North Korea’s nuclear weapons programs should press ahead with talks without the reclusive communist country.

Japan’s Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura said convening five-party talks in the absence of the North would help pressure it to return to the bargaining table.

``We have not reached a consensus (on the proposal) yet, but we are considering various ideas,’’ officials quoted Machimura as saying, referring to consultations between Japan, the U.S., South Korea, China and Russia on how to convince Pyongyang to reopen the nuclear talks.

``We cannot sit motionless in this situation,’’ he said.

The suggestion came as the five nations sought to regroup in the wake of a North Korean announcement that it is proceeding with its plutonium reprocessing.

Christopher Hill, Washington’s top nuclear negotiator, arrived in Seoul to discuss developments in the deepening crisis.

``(North Korea) does not seem to want to talk,’’ Hill told reporters upon arriving at Incheon International Airport.

The U.S. assistant secretary of state is expected to meet with Ban Ki-moon, minister of foreign affairs and trade, as well as other officials.

On the same plane as Hill was Song Min-soon, South Korea’s deputy foreign minister and point-man on the nuclear issue, who was returning from two days of meetings with key officials in Washington.

Before flying out, Song told reporters that South Korea, the U.S. and other participating nations will take ``strengthened diplomatic steps’’ to resolve the nuclear crisis peacefully by enhancing their diplomacy ``in terms of both quality and quantity.’’

Song said he agreed with U.S. officials that the North cannot be allowed to boycott the six-party talks indefinitely. But he also warned Washington against get-tough measures that could exacerbate the situation, including sending Pyongyang’s nuclear programs to the U.N. Security Council for sanctions.

Ratcheting up tensions in the dispute, North Korea on Wednesday declared it has completed unloading 8,000 spent fuel rods from its 5-megawatt nuclear reactor.

The move will give it enough weapons-grade plutonium to make several more nuclear bombs after cooling and reprocessing, according to experts.

U.S. intelligence officials have also detected signs that North Korea is preparing to conduct an underground nuclear test in Kilju, North Hamkyong Province, according to reports earlier in the week.

South Korea has rejected the speculation of a nuclear test and said the plutonium reprocessing claim is probably just a bargaining tactic by Pyongyang.

In Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called for a ``united front’’ in approaching North Korea.

Success in achieving a nuclear-free North Korea depended on the five other nations sticking together, Rice said.

Meanwhile, a top Chinese Communist Party official on Thursday warned North Korea against pursuing a nuclear test.

``If such a thing happens, China will react strongly through diplomatic routes,’’ Wang Jiarui was quoted as saying by Japan’s Kyodo News Agency.

The U.S. has been urging Beijing to use its influence as the North’s closest ally to pressure it back to the nuclear negotiations.

However, China has so far refused to consider coercive measures, such as shutting off its oil supply to North Korea, and has urged the U.S. to show greater flexibility.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan also expressed opposition to U.N. sanctions against Pyongyang.

North Korea says it would view U.N. sanctions as a declaration of war.

The six-party nuclear talks have remained stalled for nearly a year after the third round ended with little progress in June.

rjs@koreatimes.co.kr