North Korea, Iran up the nuclear ante

The United States' attempts to check the nuclear ambitions of Iran and North Korea were in disarray last night, as both nations threatened to increase their programmes.

At the United Nations summit, European foreign ministers said there had been no progress on halting Iran's uranium conversion work, while Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad offered to share his country's atomic know-how with other Islamic nations.

International support for referring Iran to the UN Security Council - a precursor to sanctions - was also ebbing away.

French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy called the talks "very frank", a diplomatic euphemism for a clash.

Faced with substantial opposition, the EU and the United States backed away from an attempt to have Iran reported to the Security Council by the UN's nuclear watchdog.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice acknowledged that Washington and its allies may lack a convincing majority on the 35-member International Atomic Energy Agency when it meets next week.

"I don't think this matter is so urgent that it has to be on September 19," she told Fox News this week.

A European diplomat said intensive lobbying of key board members such as Russia, China and India had failed to produce broad support for a referral. Brazil and Pakistan were hostile and "swing voters" Tunisia, Algeria and Nigeria were in doubt.

"We would not like to be in a situation diplomatically where we have so many countries voting against our motion," another EU diplomat said.

Six-nation talks over North Korea fell into chaos as a stand-off over Pyongyang's demand for a light-water reactor for civil use was exacerbated by its threat to boost arms production.

As delegations gathered for a fourth day of talks, the US said the North's demand for reactors was holding up an end to a three-year crisis that would allow aid and security guarantees for the impoverished state.

"We are at a bit of a stand-off," chief US negotiator Christopher Hill said in Beijing, where North and South Korea, the US, Japan, Russia and China are meeting.

"I want to stress that we all want to resolve this through a diplomatic way. [North Korea], not for the first time, has chosen to isolate itself," Hill said.

Failure to reach an accord could prompt Washington to take the issue to the UN Security Council and press for sanctions. China opposes such a move, and North Korea has said sanctions would be tantamount to war.

The North is standing firm on its demand for light-water reactors, which generate electricity but are unsuitable for making nuclear arms. "We are demanding something specific, not an empty right to peaceful nuclear activities," a North Korean spokesman said. "All the countries have expressed understanding of our position, but only the United States is adamantly against it."

- Reuters