Accord Near on N. Korean Fuel Rods, U.S. Says

GENEVA — The United States and North Korea hope to agree by this weekend on what to do with 8,000 corroding nuclear fuel rods, the top U.S. negotiator said Thursday.

However, a full settlement of their nuclear dispute is still well out of reach, chief U.S. negotiator Robert L. Gallucci said.

He said the two sides were discussing a proposal to send a team of international nuclear experts to help North Korea stabilize the corroding fuel rods. He said the United States wants a third country to reprocess the rods so North Korea cannot secretly extract plutonium, which can be used to build nuclear weapons.

“We do not want this fuel reprocessed in North Korea,” State Department spokesman David Johnson said in Washington.

Negotiators were locked in talks most of Thursday, trying to iron out final details.

There was no comment on any progress. But several sources said there were good prospects for an agreement to stabilize the rods and buy time for wider talks.

Gallucci planned to meet his North Korean counterpart, Kang Sok Ju, today to wrap up the session. The negotiations will resume at a later date, Gallucci said.