Top U.S. non-proliferation official resigns

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top U.S. non-proliferation official submitted his resignation on Wednesday, leaving the Bush administration with another major vacancy as it struggles to resolve nuclear-related disputes with Iran and North Korea.

Robert Joseph, who has a reputation as a hard-liner with deep skepticism about the potential for any serious deal with Pyongyang, plans to leave the government in February after completing work-related assignments in Ankara and Moscow.

Joseph, who holds the title of undersecretary for arms control and international security at the State Department, declined comment. But other officials told Reuters he had signed his resignation letter on Wednesday.

One senior official said Joseph was in the administration for six years -- first on the White House National Security Council staff and later moving to the State Department -- and felt it was time to leave government.

Asked if a potential North Korea deal had anything to do with the decision, the senior official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: "I don't know. He just told me he just decided it's time to go."

However, Joseph's departure comes amid a flurry of diplomacy that U.S. and Asian officials increasingly believe is likely to produce the kind of nuclear freeze deal with North Korea that Joseph and other hardliners have long opposed.

Details about recent U.S.-North Korean negotiating sessions have been closely held within the U.S. government -- even from officials who might normally know about such matters.

But officials said they expect an agreement to include a U.S. compromise on releasing at least some of the $24 million in North Korean accounts frozen by Macao authorities in a Macao bank because of U.S. accusations about Pyongyang's counterfeiting and money laundering activities.

North Korea has cited the accounts frozen in Banco Delta Asia as the major reason for stonewalling six-country talks on ending its nuclear program.

After U.S. negotiator Chris Hill held talks with North Korea in Berlin last week, South Korea said Pyongyang appears more open to U.S. and South Korean incentives to scrap its nuclear weapons program.

ANOTHER ROUND OF TALKS

A U.S. official told Reuters on Wednesday: "I wouldn't say there is an agreement but a better set of understandings. Hill had some latitude (to maneuver) if they (North Koreans) gave him something to work with."

The official, who like the others spoke anonymously because of the sensitivity of the diplomacy, cautioned, "There are decisions yet to be made in both capitals but we're headed in a direction" that could produce an agreement.

Initial progress would come at the start of another round of six-country talks -- involving the two Koreas, the United States, Japan, Russia and China -- which are likely to resume next month, he said.

If that doesn't happen, "there's nothing else to talk about," the official added.

Several officials said they expected Pyongyang to agree to halt operations at their main known nuclear complex Yongbyon, a key U.S. demand.

Joseph is the latest high-level departure from the State Department as embattled President George W. Bush begins his final two years in office. Other vacancies include deputy secretary, counselor and assistant secretaries for counter-terrorism and political-military affairs.

Joseph, a major force behind the administration's controversial proliferation security initiative which organized countries in a voluntary program to share intelligence and interdict trade in weapons of mass destruction, is expected to teach, write and consult.

"He leaves with the utmost respect of the president and Secretary of State (Condoleezza) Rice and certainly that respect is mutual," the senior U.S. official said.