A senior government official says the agenda and framework of the six-nation talks on resolving North Korea’s nuclear issue must change.

The official noted Thursday that the September 19th joint declaration, which was adopted during previous nuclear negotiations, only addresses the North’s plutonium program and not its uranium enrichment or missile programs.

The official dismissed the North’s call for discussions about the adoption of a peace treaty to replace the armistice signed after the Korean War, citing that the issue is not part of the six-way denuclearization talks. The official also noted that the September 19th joint declaration stipulates that the issue of peace treaties be discussed in a separate forum.

On next week’s talks between North Korea and the U.S., the official said he believes the prospects for progress are dim, noting that Korea Economic Institute President Jack Pritchard said he noticed no changes in the North's attitude during his recent trip to Pyongyang.

As for negotiations between the two Koreas on organizing an inter-Korean summit, the official quoted those who took part in the negotiations as saying that the North Korean officials did not wish to pursue preparations for the possible summit in an overly transparent manner. The official said Seoul, on the other hand, is planning to push forward with transparent preparations at predefined intervals.