(20.9.2005) North Korea has said it will not scrap its nuclear programme until it is given a civilian nuclear reactor, undermining an agreement reached 24 hours earlier. (…)

Both Japan and the US have rejected Pyongyang‘s demand for a reactor.

Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura said the North‘s demand was „unacceptable“, Kyodo News agency reported.

Sean McCormack, a spokesman for the US State Department, said: „This was obviously not the agreement they signed, and we will see what the coming weeks bring.“