A Japanese daily says North Korea wants its initial nuclear dismantlement to be limited to the three facilities in its main reactor in Yongbyon.

The Tokyo Shimbun says Pyongyang made the announcement during six-way working level talks in Shenyang, China in mid-August.

The three facilities are a 5,000 kilowatt graphite moderated reactor, a radiochemical laboratory used for reprocessing spent nuclear fuel rods and a fuel processing center.

The North suggested first reporting its graphite reactor and all reprocessed nuclear materials. But the next-phase implementation steps Pyongyang proposed do not include nuclear weapons or facilities outside of Yongbyon.

The daily says difficulty is expected in the next round of the six-way talks next month, and also predicts a low chance of implementing the next-phase measures by year's end.