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The United States on Sunday called on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to replace monitoring equipment it dismantled at one of its nuclear reactors and refrain from restarting the facility.
US Secretary of State Colin Powell discussed the situation by telephone with his counterparts from China, South Korea, Japan and Russia over the weekend, State Department spokesman Lou Fintor said.
The spokesman declined to provide details of the discussions but said the Bush administration was seeking peaceful solution to the crisis sparked when the DPRK began dismantling monitoring equipment set by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Pyongyang confirmed on Sunday it had cut most of the seals that IAEA inspectors placed on a deactivated nuclear reactor and blocked monitoring equipment at the reactor.
DPRK's official Korean Central News Agency said that Pyongyang was "compelled" to start removing the seals and monitoring cameras from the facility so it could be used to produce electricity.
(Xinhua News Agency December 23, 2002)
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