North Korea will continue to pursue peaceful nuclear program in its own way whether the United States would provide it with a light-water reactor or not, said spokesman for the North Korean delegation Hyun Hak Bong Friday.

He said at a press briefing Friday evening that North Korea has offered to accept joint management of the light-water nuclear reactor once it is built for the sake of building mutual trust and taking into consideration the concerns of the United States.

North Korea's position in the six-party talks is that it will "completely give up" its nuclear weapons on the condition that N.Korea -US ties are normalized, mutual trust is established and North Korea is free from US nuclear threat, he said.

He said according to the 1994 Agreed Framework between the two sides, the United States offers North Korea light-water reactors, while North Korea freezes its nuclear programs.

"However, the Bush Administration abandoned the agreement and listed North Korea as part of 'an axis of evil' and a target of its preemptive actions." he said. Under such circumstances, North Korea opted to withdraw from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) for defending itself, he added.

The spokesman said North Korea has demonstrated its sincerity by taking part in the six-way nuclear talks and clarifying the target of Korean Peninsula denuclearization.

"However, the United States demanded that North Korea disarm and give up its nuclear deterrence for self-defensive purpose at first, which North Korea can never accept," he said.

The six parties, China, North Korea, the United States, the Republic of Korea, Russia and Japan, reopened the fourth round of talks in the Chinese capital Tuesday after a five-week recess.

Chief Russian negotiator Alexander Alexeyev said Friday afternoon a joint document may come out Saturday from the on-going six-party talks.

(Xinhua News Agency September 17, 2005)