North Korea is demanding a U-S apology for calling the North an "outpost of tyranny" before returning to the six-way talks.

The North Korean Workers' Party newspaper, Rodong Shinmun, on Tuesday said in an editorial that Pyongyang had pressed Washington to restore the foundation of the talks, yet the United States answered with its "outpost of tyranny" slur.

The editorial accused the United States of sole responsibility for the stalled dialogue and the nuclear standoff.

Calling U-S President Bush a "stagecoach driver who knows nothing but whipping horses," it said Pyongyang can no longer wait for a change in U-S policy on the North.