Page "North Korea and weapons of mass destruction" Paragraph 12

The U. S. rejected North Korean calls for bilateral talks concerning a non-aggression pact, and stated that only six-party talks that also include the People's Republic of China, Russia, Japan, and South Korea are acceptable.

The American stance was that North Korea had violated prior bilateral agreements, thus such forums lacked accountability.

Conversely, North Korea refused to speak in the context of six-party talks, stating that it would only accept bilateral talks with the United States.

This led to a diplomatic stalemate.