North Korea says U.S. must drop sanctions before talks

BEIJING (Reuters) - North Korea will resume six-party talks on its nuclear activities only if the United States drops threatened sanctions against it, a North Korean official said on Wednesday as talks between Tokyo and Pyongyang ended in rancour. 

"The condition is to remove the financial sanctions," said Song Il Ho, North Korea's ambassador to bilateral talks with Japan in Beijing. "If the Japanese tell the U.S., they will actually listen to them more carefully."