Feb. 24 (Bloomberg) -- North Korea and the U.S. meet tomorrow for the first time in six months for international talks on the communist country's nuclear program that may do little more than highlight the differences between the two sides.

North Korea is seeking security guarantees, economic aid and the lifting of sanctions as incentives for freezing its program. Otherwise, the talks will be ``paralyzed,'' China's official Xinhua news agency quoted a North Korean official it didn't identify as saying. The U.S. wants the nuclear program dismantled before normalizing relations.

If North Korea ``only asserts its principles and makes no definite proposals, the dialogue will be empty.'' Lee Soo Hyuck, South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister, said in a meeting with Wang Yi, China's Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs, today in Beijing.

North Korea joins the talks with the U.S., South Korea, Japan, China and Russia after discussions in Beijing in August failed to make progress on persuading the country to give up its nuclear weapons program. North Korea triggered the dispute 16 months ago when it acknowledged it was developing nuclear weapons, breaking a 1994 agreement with the U.S.

South Korea and China warned that a lack of consensus may require the participants to spend more time than previously expected.

``We don't believe it's possible to achieve consensus on all issues'' during the second round, China's foreign ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue told reporters in Beijing. Participants may have to ``institutionalize'' the talks, she said.

Libya's Declaration

The U.S. wants a commitment similar to Libya's declaration on Dec. 19 that it is ending the development of weapons of mass destruction and allowing United Nations inspections, an unidentified Bush administration official said last week at a briefing in Washington on the talks.

Underscoring the differences, North Korea's foreign ministry called U.S. claims that the country has uranium ``fictitious,'' Agence France-Presse reported, citing a Xinhua report.

Talks between diplomats won't yield an agreement because any accord will have to be approved by North Korea's leaders, the official said. U.S. negotiators will be prepared to outline the economic benefits that would flow from a pledge by North Korea to dismantle its weapons plants and allow inspectors to verify the program is being terminated, the official said.

At a minimum, the Beijing meeting must produce a written document that outlines the demands of both the U.S. and North Korea, said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov, according to Interfax.

Russia

Russia wants working groups set up that will discuss the nuclear issue on a permanent basis, Losyukov, who heads the Russian delegation, said earlier this week.

It will be difficult for North Korea and the U.S. to ``turn their backs on each other'' at the negotiating table because North Korea will face international isolation and the U.S. will face international criticism, South Korea's President Roh Moo Hyun said in an interview with Maeil Business Newspaper published today. North Korea may make a concession at the talks, Roh said without elaborating.

While the U.S. pushes for a ``complete, verifiable and irreversible'' dismantling of the program, China, North Korea's closest ally, won't say whether it will call for the same thing.

``I'm not optimistic'' there will be any breakthroughs, said Yusen Kwoh, chief economist at Millennium Capital Services Co. in Shanghai. ``China wants the status quo.''

More Hope

A flurry of recent meetings between officials representing the participants may be helping to pave the way for a more definite outcome than last year's first round.

U.S. Undersecretary of State John Bolton held talks last week with China's Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi on halting nuclear proliferation. The two sides agreed to work more closely and meet again. They ``want to ensure the second round proceeds smoothly,'' China's foreign ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue said.

Japan intends to ask North Korea to hold more talks to try to settle the issue of Japanese nationals kidnapped by North Korean agents during the 1970s and 1980s. Talks held in Pyongyang last week made no progress on the issue.

South Korea wants to resolve the deadlock that has increased tensions on the peninsula for the past 16 months. It is ready to offer aid, security guarantees and other unspecified rewards in the event North Korea agrees to completely dispose of its nuclear devices and allows checks, South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki Moon said last week.

James Kelly, the assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, heads the U.S. delegation.

To contact the reporter on this story: Rob Delaney in Beijing at robdelaney@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: February 24, 2004 05:49 EST