Clinton Says Denuclearization Only Option for North Korea

(Voice of America) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says North Korea must irreversibly shut down its nuclear weapons program before returning to multilateral disarmament talks.

Clinton says meetings with her counterparts from Russia, China, Japan and South Korea on Wednesday generated "remarkable" unity on North Korea.

She met the ministers separately on the Thai island of Phuket, where they are gathered for a regional security conference.

The countries had offered North Korea a package of incentives and improved diplomatic relations, in exchange for its cooperation in nuclear disarmament talks.

But North Korea has withdrawn from those talks, and recently tested a nuclear weapon and ballistic missiles in violation of United Nations sanctions.

Clinton said earlier on Thai television the United States is concerned North Korea could transfer nuclear technology to Burma.

She said it is important for Burma's neighbors to pose a united front against a possible military alliance between the authoritarian regimes.

The secretary of state is in Thailand for a meeting of foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and other world powers.

While there, she also is signing ASEAN's Treaty of Amity and Cooperation. The treaty was created in 1976, with the aim of resolving regional disputes peacefully.