The White House says there will be no direct talks with North Korea about its nuclear program, unless they occur within broader six-country negotiations. Earlier, a North Korean official said Pyongyang favored one-on-one talks with Washington. White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Friday the two nations can speak directly during the six-party talks. Mr. McClellan said one-on-one talks have failed because North Korea violated a 1994 agreement by continuing to pursue nuclear weapons. South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon met Friday with Vice President Dick Cheney in Washington, where the two reaffirmed that Pyongyang should end its nuclear weapons program. Mr. Ban also met with U.S. Senator Richard Lugar, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. North Korea said Thursday it has nuclear weapons and is abandoning six-party talks involving the two Koreas, the United States, Japan, China and Russia.
