Talks Fail to Produce a Nuclear Arms Accord

The two Koreas failed to agree on a format for talks on resolving a dispute over North Korea’s suspected nuclear weapons program but said they would pursue a peaceful end to the crisis. They offered no specifics.

After an overnight meeting in Seoul, South Korean negotiators settled for a vague statement while agreeing to maintain contacts with the North.

South Korea had hoped to persuade North Korea to agree to multilateral talks that could include the United States, China, Japan and Russia. North Korea has said it first wants one-on-one talks with the U.S.