North Korea lashes out at Clinton, rejects six-party talks

As United States (U.S.) Secretary of State Hillary Clinton continued to seek support among Asian leaders for a tougher stance against North Korea\'s weapons ambitions, Pyongyang lashed out at her by name for comparing the country to an attention-seeking child, according to a report by James Hookway on www.wsj.com.



Mrs. Clinton, meeting with Asian leaders at the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations at the Thai island of Phuket, said she was \"gratified\" by how many countries directly expressed their concerns with North Korea, which sent a roving ambassador to the annual gathering.



\"There is now no place to go for North Korea. They have no friends left,\" Mrs. Clinton said at a press conference on the last day of the meeting of the group, known as Asean.



The U.S. and China, South Korea, Russia and Japan have been trying to persuade North Korea to return to six-party talks on denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. Mrs. Clinton said the U.S. wants North Korea to make an \"irreversible\" commitment to abandon its nuclear program and is prepared to offer a \"comprehensive package\" of incentives to coax North Korea back to the negotiating table.



Mrs. Clinton, however, stopped short of threatening \"offensive action\" action North Korea if it refuses to resume talks.



Meanwhile, North Korea fixed its attention on comments Monday by Mrs. Clinton in an interview with ABC News. Mrs. Clinton said the U.S. took a low-key response to North Korea\'s missile tests earlier this month because it did not want to give Pyongyang \"the satisfaction they were looking for, which was to elevate them to center stage.\"



She added \"maybe it\'s the mother in me, the experience I\'ve had with small children and teenagers and people, who are demanding attention: Don\'t give it to them.\"