North Koreans wait to board a boat on the bank of the Yalu River near the North Korean town of Sinuiju yesterday. Talks on the future of North Korea's nuclear arms programme entered a fifth day yesterday with negotiators scrambling for progress after Pyongyang's demands for energy compensation were rejected. - REUTERS

BEIJING (AP):

Envoys on North Korea's nuclear programme neared a tentative agreement after marathon talks, host China said yesterday, potentially setting the stage for Pyongyang to take its first steps to disarm in more than three years of negotiations.

The draft agreement came after 16 hours of what Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang called "extraordinarily intensive consultations" on the fifth day of talks.

"Some positive results have been achieved," Qin said, but added that the negotiators would have to meet again in Beijing.

No details of the proposal were immediately available.

Japan's chief envoy said it was "too early to tell" if Tokyo was satisfied with the deal.

The current round of six-nation talks began Thursday on a promising note after the United States and North Korea signalled a willingness to compromise. But negotiations quickly became mired on the issue of how much energy aid the North would get in exchange for initial steps of disarmament.