Chief U.S. Envoy: 'We Are Not Going to Live With a Nuclear North Korea'

The United States passed a warning to North Korea not to conduct a nuclear test, the chief U.S. envoy to stalled disarmament talks with the communist country said Wednesday. "We are not going to live with a nuclear North Korea," he said.

Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill told reporters that the U.S. has sent Pyongyang a message of "deep concern" through diplomatic channels at the United Nations in New York. He said North Korea has yet to respond.

The U.S. message to the communist regime came as it sought to marshal a unified diplomatic front against North Korea's possible nuclear test. American intelligence officials also scrutinized sites that could be used for the test.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other U.S. diplomats reached out to their counterparts in Asia and Europe, State Department spokesman Tom Casey said. The effort was intended to send "a strong and unified signal ... that these kinds of threats are certainly not acceptable," he said.