Officials of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) warned that any delay in resolving the nuclear crisis will only give Pyongyang more time to build a nuke arsenal, former US expert on Korea Charles Pritchard told the press on Friday.  

Pritchard, who returned from the DPRK last week after an unofficial visit with US experts, said he was told by DPRK's Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan that "time is not on the US side."

"Lapses of time will result in quantitative and qualitative increases in our nuclear deterrent," Kim was quoted as saying.

The US delegation held nine-hour-long talks with Kim during the visit. 

Pritchard also said that a cooling pond at a nuclear facility in Yongbyon, which once held 8,000 spent fuel rods, was empty when the delegation visiting there.

Kim urges the United States to remove the DPRK from the terrorism list, to lift sanctions against Pyongyang and resume fuel deliveries, he said.

He said there were many vehicles on the street of DPRK's capital city of Pyongyang, compared with almost none a few years ago.

The brief visit indicated that change is occurring in the DPRK and the country is far from economic collapse, the former US diplomat said, adding "I was stunned by the activity."

Pritchard resigned as envoy to the DPRK from the State Department in August 2002, after failing to persuade Washington to engage in direct talks with Pyongyang.

A US delegation led by US nuclear expert John Wilson Lewis visited DPRK's nuclear facilities and met with officials from Jan. 6-10. 

The delegation's access to Yongbyon was the first by outside visitors since the DPRK expelled UN nuclear inspectors at the end of 2002 amid confrontation with the United States over the nuclear issue.

(Xinhua News Agency January 17, 2004)