Washington ? The Bush administration said Friday it would confer with allies about possible U.N. sanctions against North Korea after a round of nuclear talks marked by brinkmanship on the part of the communist country.

In the past, North Korea has said that international sanctions would constitute a “declaration of war.”

Presidential spokesman Ari Fleischer said the administration had taken no position on sanctions but would seek input from other countries.

“North Korea has thumbed its nose not only at the region but at much of the world as a result of its actions, and therefore has been condemned by much of the world,” he said.

He spoke hours after the conclusion of the third and final day of talks in Beijing involving the United States, North Korea and China on Pyongyang’s nuclear program.

After a brief meeting among the three, Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly flew to Seoul to brief South Korean officials on the meetings. He planned to visit Japan today.

When the U.N. Security Council took up the North Korea issue two weeks ago, sanctions were not discussed. The Council expressed concern about North Korea’s withdrawal from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. A stronger statement failed to pass because of opposition from China and Russia.

At the State Department, spokesman Richard Boucher said the United States would not make concessions to North Korea.

“We are not going to give a quid pro quo to get rid of a nuclear weapons program that never should have existed in the first place,” he said.

Administration officials had said Thursday that North Korean delegate Ri Gun told Kelly that his country had nuclear weapons and would test, export or use them, depending on U.S. actions.

The officials added that North Korea also told the U.S. delegation that it had reprocessed spent nuclear fuel rods, a key step in the production of nuclear weapons. That claim is not backed up by U.S. intelligence.

“We’re not going to allow ourselves to be intimidated or blackmailed by threats,” Boucher said.