CRI听力：Deadlock in this Round of Six-Party Talks

Four days of Six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear programme ended on Thursday without bridging a dispute with Pyongyang over how to get North Korea to verify its past atomic activities.

The six-party talks, involving the US, the two Koreas, Japan, Russia and host China began on Monday, but always remained at an impasse over how to impose a verification process acceptable to all parties.

Chinese envoy Wu Dawei, the chairman of the talks, said in his closing statement that the six countries had evaluated progress made towards agreement on terms for verification, and added that the nations would welcome assistance from the International Atomic Energy Agency.

"The parties agreed, as described in the October 3 Second Phase Agreement, to complete in parallel the disablement of the Yongbyon nuclear facilities, and the provision of economic and energy assistance equivalent to one million tons of heavy fuel oil by the other parties."

US envoy Christopher Hill said that North Korea would not agree to proposals made by the other countries involved in the six-party talks.

"As you know this was... we had some very ambitious plans for this round. Unfortunately we're not able to complete some of the things we wanted to do. We worked very hard on verification but ultimately were not able to get an agreed verification protocol."

North Korea was refusing to allow outside inspectors to take samples from its main nuclear complex at Yongbyon, a crucial method of checking whether it has been truthful in its accounting of its nuclear programs.

Hill said no date had been set for when the talks would resume.

The six-party talks have taken place intermittently since 2003.

In 2006, North Korea conducted an underground nuclear test.(WWw.hxen.net)

It agreed to a disarmament-for-aid pact in 2007, but the process stalled in August amid the verification standoff.

North Korea submitted an inventory of its past activities in June.

US officials said it agreed previously to allow experts to take samples and conduct forensic tests at all of its declared nuclear facilities and undeclared sites.

But North Korea said it agreed only to let nuclear inspectors visit its main atomic complex in Yongbyon, view related documents and interview scientists - not take samples.