Six-nation talks on the North Korea nuclear crisis may not take place before the end of the year as hoped and may be pushed back into January or February, a US official warned on Tuesday.
The first indication that preparations for the talks could be in trouble came hours after top State Department official John Bolton warned Pyongyang should not seek to stall the meeting expected around Dec. 17 or Dec. 19.
Asked whether Bolton was hinting there was already a hitch in the dialogue, another US official said on condition of anonymity: "He did not make any mention of the talks taking place in December."
Asked whether the meeting was more likely to happen in January or February, the official replied: "Yes."
The State Department earlier refused to be drawn into firming up the date of the talks, which most reports have said could come after the second week of this month.
"That date has been put out there, but we haven't given it any special credence," said deputy spokesman Adam Ereli.
"We are hopeful that a second round can be convened soon, but aren't able to be more specific than that," he said.
Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage earlier said that despite hopes for a resolution of the crisis, the showdown with North Korea remained a "messy situation" that was "damn dangerous."
"We believe that we have an agreement to have another six-party talk in Beijing, probably in December, but not definitely.
"As long as all the six parties to the problem are willing to talk about it, I think we're in a situation where eventually we can bring it to resolution. But it's damn dangerous," he said.
It was not clear which issue was complicating the ballet of diplomacy orchestrated by Beijing designed to launch the meetings before the end of this year.
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