North Korea is throwing up "smoke screens" in its continued refusal to return to six-party talks on its nuclear programs, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told Reuters on Friday. Pyongyang has repeatedly demanded Washington state it has "no hostile intent" toward the isolated communist country. Rice dismissed the demand in an interview, saying, "The North Koreans are throwing up smoke screens." "Let's be realistic here. This isn't an issue of what we say or what we don't say. This is an issue where the North Koreans come to the table prepared to make a strategic choice," to give up their nuclear activities, she said. --SP 2230 Local Time 1930 GMT
