Gallucci, now dean of Georgetown University's Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service in Washington, D.C., in a press conference in Seoul stressed that the U.S. and North Korea needed to get down to sincere negotiations fast.

Criticizing Washington's current line, he repeatedly urged bilateral talks between Washington and Pyongyang. He said the six-party talks were a useful tool to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue, but the format mustn't become a barrier to direct talks between the U.S. and North Korea.

Gallucci said the U.S. and South Korea needed to resolve tensions over North Korea policy and try to understand one another.

Koreans needed to understand that Americans who experienced the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks could not tolerate North Korea exporting nuclear materials abroad, while Americans needed to show consideration for Korean fears of a war on the Korean Peninsula, he said.

The Clinton administration's North Korea point man added he opposed attacks 12 years ago when he was involved in the negotiations for the Geneva Accords and still opposes them. He added the U.S. must not use force even if that means bilateral talks with the North.

Gallucci said the U.S. did not release confidential minutes from the Geneva Accords, which include U.S. demands to Pyongyang, at North Korea's request. He declined to give details of the minutes, which he said were reported to the U.S. Congress.

(englishnews@chosun.com )