Another mistake by the Bush admin. Thanks Condi. why would they ever believe these N. Korean hacks? Especially after we found out they’re helping the Syrians obtain nuclear material and secrets?

WASHINGTON, Jan. 17 - A U.S. diplomat on Thursday criticized the six-party nuclear talks with , saying the reclusive nation is not serious about abandoning its nuclear weapons.

Jay Lefkowitz, President George W. Bush’s special envoy on human rights in North Korea, also lambasted China and South Korea for not applying enough pressure on Pyongyang while the six-way discussions have been seeking for years to denuclearize the North.

“North Korea is not serious about disarming in a timely manner,” he said at a forum sponsored by the American Enterprise Institute for Policy Research, a conservative Washington think tank.

“It is increasingly clear that North Korea will remain in its present nuclear status when the (Bush) administration leaves office in one year,” he said, referring to the end of Bush’s term as president in January 2009.

Lefkowitz made the remarks — a rare, open rebuke of the Bush administration’s policy — after Pyongyang missed a Dec. 31 deadline to give a full account of its nuclear programs in accordance with a deal with the United States, China, Japan, South Korea and Russia.