Former US president Jimmy Carter said yesterday that the Bush administration was partly responsible for North Korea's decision to test a nuclear device because of its isolationist policy towards the Asian country.
He urged Washington to change course and open direct dialogue with Pyongyang.
Mr Carter, president from 1977 to 1981, negotiated a deal during a visit to North Korea in 1994 over the reclusive communist state's nuclear program, when fellow Democrat Bill Clinton was president.
Mr Carter said he favoured resuming talks with North Korea, adding that the current US government has established an unprecedented international policy of not talking to anyone who disagrees with the United States.
