The United States said on Tuesday that it would not accept a partial solution of the nuclear issue of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

"We cannot accept a partial solution that does not deal with the entirety of the problem, allowing North Korea to threaten others continually with a revival of its nuclear program," said Christopher Hill, the US chief negotiator to the six-party talks, at a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The United States sought "the dismantlement, verifiably and irreversibly, of all DPRK nuclear programs -- nothing less," Hill said.

Hill said that the United States is prepared to have bilateral contacts with the DPRK within the six-party process.

"We are prepared to have bilateral contacts and to meet bilaterally with the North Koreans within the six-party process. What we do not want to do is have bilateral contacts reach such a stage that the six-party process becomes irrelevant," he said.

Hill also said that the United States at present does not plan to refer the DPRK nuclear issue to the United Nations Security Council.

"I think Secretary Rice and Secretary Rumsfeld clarified this issue, and I will do as well, which is that we do not have a plan to bring this to the Security Council. That's a right we reserve, and we could do so in the future, but it is not something we're planning to do now," he said.

Three rounds of the six-party talks have been held in Beijing but the talks have remained stalled since the last round of talks were held in June last year.

Source: Xinhua