BEIJING, JULY 19, SPA -- Arms negotiators sought Thursday to secureNorth Korea's commitment to its offer to disable itsnuclear facilities by the end of the year, preventing thecommunist nation from easily being able to make more atomicbombs, REPORTED AP. Delegates at the six-nation talks began a second day ofmeetings in Beijing, during which the main Americannegotiator said they were laying out a target date for thenext steps in the North's disarmament following the recentshutdown of the country's main nuclear reactor. The talks _ which include China, Japan, Russia, the U.S. and the two Koreas _ were originally planned to endThursday but have been extended to Friday, delegates said. A Japanese Foreign Ministry official speaking on conditionof anonymity said the envoys decided they needed more timeto discuss details «so that they can achieve someresults.» U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill saidduring an afternoon break in the negotiations that thesession was prolonged so the sides could meet again Friday,adding «I don't know why.» He said he did not have a draft agreement for thissession, which the Chinese hosts were expected to prepare. At the opening of the talks Wednesday, North Korea offeredto meet a year-end deadline for disabling its nuclearprograms and said it «would not drag its feet or makeunreasonable demands in carrying out its obligations,»South Korea's nuclear envoy Chun Yung-woo told reportersThursday. Hill has declined to reveal specifics of the talks, butsaid earlier Thursday there had been consensus on a«target timeframe» for a declaration of the North'sprograms followed by the disablement of its facilities. «We missed just about every deadline and we don't want todo that anymore,» he said, referring to the frequenthiccups in the negotiating process since the standoff beganin late 2002. «We have to be careful about deadlines, butif you don't have deadlines you'll never get stuff done.» The North twice boycotted talks for more than a year, andmissed a deadline for shutting down its reactor by morethan three months due to a separate bank dispute. Pyongyangshut down its sole operating nuclear reactor Saturday _ thefirst step it has taken to scale back its nuclear ambitionssince the crisis began. By eventually disabling its nuclear facilities, NorthKorea would lose its ability to easily make more atomicbombs _ going beyond achievements at any previous armsnegotiations with Pyongyang. The North conducted anunderground nuclear test in October, confirming it couldbuild a weapon. North Korea has begun receiving 50,000 tons of oil fromSouth Korea as a reward for the shutdown, and is toeventually receive the equivalent of a total of 1 milliontons for disabling its nuclear facilities under a Februaryagreement among the six countries. Because the North can only receive about 50,000 tons ofoil a month, Hill said other types of aid could be offeredsuch as helping refurbish factories or storage facilities. Hill said the U.S. also was interested in providinghumanitarian aid to the North. Washington had previouslybeen a large donor to the impoverished country, mainlythrough the U.N., but scaled back its contributions as thenuclear crisis sank into a deadlock. «We're very concerned about the plight of the NorthKorean people and would like to see what can be done,» hesaid Thursday. The nuclear detente has also fostered improved relationsbetween the two Koreas, who have taken unprecedented stepsto lay aside decades of hostility since a 2000 summit. South Korea said Thursday it had proposed another round ofhigh-level talks with the North for early next month, wherethe countries typically discuss aid and economiccooperation. The North has yet to respond to the offer,Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Nam-sik said in Seoul. ___ Associated Press writers Jae-soon Chang and Mari Yamaguchicontributed to this report. --SPA www.spa.gov.sa/468658