Chang Sung-kil: could reveal sensitive missiles information

North Korea Walks Away from Missiles Talks with USA

It took the action after Washington granted "protected status" to two North Korean diplomats and their families.

The two men - the ambassador to Egypt, Chang Sung-kil, and his brother who is a senior trade representative in Paris - are among the most senior North Korean officials to defect.

A tough statement from the North Korean Mission to the UN described the US position as a grave insult and an act of hostility. The statement called the defectors "criminals" and repeated North Korea's demands that the two men be sent back to the capital, Pyongyang.

In the past, North Korea has not allowed defections to derail scheduled talks, but the case of Chang Sung-kil is particularly sensitive, given his presumed knowledge of Pyongyang's missile sales in the Middle East.

Western officials say North Korea is also trying to send a signal to other diplomats abroad not to think of defecting - and a warning to Washington that Pyongyang's co-operation on a whole range of issues, including proposed peace talks with South Korea and China, cannot be taken for granted.

The White House has expressed disappointment at the break-off of the missile talks, but a spokesman added the US was still committed to the four-party peace process, and that it was in North Korea's interests to keep talking.

A BBC correspondent in New York says most Western diplomats there agree with that analysis. They say North Korea, with its urgent need for food aid has too much to lose from pulling back from its growing contacts with Washington.