Rice: Nuke test would further isolate Pyongyang

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Friday that another North Korean nuclear test would only "further deepen" Pyongyang's isolation, while her South Korean counterpart said there were no indications that the North was preparing for a test. "The reasonable course is to return to six-party talks," Rice told reporters at a news conference with South Korean Foreign Minister Song Min-soon, referring to efforts by the United States, South Korea, Japan, China and Russia to persuade the North to abandon its nuclear weapons. Song said that the US and South Korea were closely watching the North's activities, but there were no signs that a follow-up to the North's October 9 nuclear test were imminent.