Rival Koreas extend talks to Thursday

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The two Koreas on Wednesday extended their first direct talks in 10 months for an extra day as South Korea tried to convince the communist North to return to the nuclear bargaining table.
The talks came amid heightened concerns over North Korea's nuclear ambitions. Pyongyang said last week it removed fuel rods from a reactor — a step toward extracting weapons-grade plutonium. There has been speculation that North Korea might be preparing to conduct a nuclear test, which U.S. officials have said would lead to unspecified actions; Japan says it would seek U.N. sanctions.