North Korea Nuclear Talks Stall
Paul Kerr
Participants in the Nov. 9-11 six-party talks in Beijing attempted to
build on a September breakthrough in resolving the North Korea nuclear
crisis, but they apparently made little headway. Differences between
the United States and North Korea, especially regarding the proper
sequencing of rewards and obligations, continue to block progress.
The participants have divided this round-the fifth since August
2003-into at least two phases. President George W. Bush told
reporters Nov. 8 that the session was "really to prepare for the
longer meetings" where more detailed discussions would take place.
Chinese and South Korean diplomats made similar comments.
Chinese Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Wu Dawei stated Nov. 11 that
the participants have agreed to hold the second session "at the
earliest possible date," but no date has yet been set. Japan and
Russia are the other participants in the talks.
The November meeting was the parties' first attempt to discuss
implementing the statement of principles, which was adopted in
September to guide future talks. North Korea committed in that
statement to abandon all of its nuclear programs and return to the
nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT). In return, the other parties
pledged to respect Pyongyang's sovereignty, normalize their
diplomatic relations, and provide North Korea with economic cooperation
and energy assistance.
But since the talks ended, the United States and North Korea have
accused each other of failing to take the negotiations seriously.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told reporters in South Korea Nov.
16 that "the jury is out" on whether Pyongyang is willing "to get
serious about dismantlement and verification."
North Korea continues to question Washington's commitment to
respecting its sovereignty, arguing that the Bush administration
remains intent on pursuing a policy of regime change, even while
participating in the talks.
The current nuclear crisis began in October 2002 when Washington
announced that North Korean officials had admitted to possessing a
clandestine uranium-enrichment program in violation of the 1994 Agreed
Framework. That bilateral agreement froze Pyongyang's
graphite-moderated nuclear reactor and related facilities located at
Yongbyon. Both plutonium, which is obtained from spent reactor fuel,
and highly enriched uranium can serve as fissile material for nuclear
weapons.
Since then, North Korea has expelled International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) inspectors charged with monitoring the freeze, withdrawn from
the NPT, and taken several steps that have likely enabled it to
increase its fissile material stockpile.
The Talks
Washington vs. Pyongyang
The United States and North Korea appear to agree that improved
bilateral relations will remove the need for Pyongyang to have a
nuclear weapons program. But the Bush administration argues that
Pyongyang should first begin the process of eliminating its nuclear
programs in order to pave the way for better relations. North Korea
takes the opposite view.
Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs
Christopher Hill described these different perspectives while speaking
to reporters Nov. 11. North Korea "is always urging that there be a
good atmosphere in order to make progress," he said, adding "[m]y
point is, if you make progress, there will be a good atmosphere."
Hill said the previous day that Washington is "prepared to live by"
its commitments outlined in the joint statement. But Hill made it clear
that the Bush administration wants the current round of talks to focus
on devising a plan for North Korea to dismantle its nuclear programs
quickly and verifiably.
The United States wants North Korea quickly to shut down its Yongbyon
nuclear facilities, as well as prepare a comprehensive declaration of
its nuclear weapons, materials, and facilities. U.S. officials have
said repeatedly that Washington will not promise rewards to Pyongyang
for taking such a step.
The Bush administration did not provide any further details about
implementing its part of the joint statement. Hill said that the U.S.
delegation would contemplate the recent discussions and return next
time "with some very specific ideas."
A Department of State official familiar with the talks told Arms
Control Today Nov. 21 that the United States wants North Korea to
demonstrate that it will implement its portion of the joint statement
before Washington presents a more detailed proposal. Shutting down the
research reactor would be one way for Pyongyang to do so, the official
said.
For its part, North Korea proposed to dismantle its nuclear program in
several phases, although details remain unclear. According to United
Press International, South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young
said Nov. 14 that North Korea had pledged that it would first refrain
from testing nuclear weapons, producing additional nuclear weapons, or
transferring nuclear technology or materials to other countries.
Pyongyang would then freeze and dismantle its nuclear facilities.
Finally, North Korea would return to the NPT and its IAEA safeguards
agreement, as well as allow inspectors to verify North Korea's
dismantlement, Chung said. This scheme is not substantively different
from previous North Korean proposals.
Hill criticized Pyongyang's proposed denuclearization approach,
arguing that it would unnecessarily prolong the talks.
North Korea did not mention any conditions for halting work at its
nuclear facilities, Hill told reporters. But North Korea's vice
foreign minister, Kim Gye Gwan, told the Associated Press Nov. 12 that
Pyongyang would only freeze its reactors following the provision of an
unspecified reward.
Despite the U.S. refusal to negotiate a freeze, a South Korean delegate
to the talks indicated that the United States and other parties could
take unspecified reciprocal gestures if North Korea were to shut down
the reactor, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported Nov. 10.
Kim said at the talks' end that Pyongyang intends to follow through
on its commitments but wants Washington to lift "financial
sanctions" on North Korea. The Bush administration decided Oct. 21 to
freeze the U.S. assets of eight additional North Korean entities for
their unspecified "involvement" in the proliferation of nuclear,
chemical, or biological weapons or related delivery vehicles. The
action was taken pursuant to an executive order Bush issued in June.
(See ACT, September 2005.)
Hill said that North Korea also protested U.S. efforts to crack down on
a bank located in Macau for allegedly laundering money for North Korean
firms engaged in illicit activities, such as counterfeiting.
Kim warned that these measures violate the September joint statement
and "are going to hinder the implementation of the commitment we have
made."
Pyongyang also has said that other recent U.S. actions, such as
labeling North Korea as a state that limits religious freedom, signal
the administration's continued commitment to its "hostile
policy."
Whether these issues will ultimately derail the talks or further
complicate them is unclear. North Korea has issued similar threats and
complaints numerous times in the past but has never broken off the
talks completely. Pyongyang did, however, cite U.S. criticism as a
reason for its months-long refusal to attend talks before the previous
round. (See ACT, March 2005.)
On the other hand, Hill said that North Korea devoted little attention
during the November session to its previous demand that the United
States provide a light-water nuclear reactor. North Korea said
immediately after the last round that it would not rejoin the NPT or
the IAEA until it received such a reactor but later softened this
demand. (See ACT, November 2005.)
Other Parties Weigh In
Some other participants continued to exhort both Washington and
Pyongyang to be more flexible in their diplomacy. For example, Chinese
President Hu Jintao and South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun said in a
Nov. 16 joint statement that "each party to the talks should show
sincere flexibility on its position...in order to ensure continued
progress in the six-party talks," Yonhap reported.
South Korea and Japan also attempted to present more concrete proposals
for implementing the September statement. Officials from both countries
said they proposed that the participants separate outstanding issues
into three categories: the dismantlement of Pyongyang's nuclear
program, provision of economic and energy assistance to North Korea,
and Pyongyang's bilateral issues with Washington and Tokyo.
Hill told reporters that South Korea offered suggestions for
implementing each of the principles in the September statement, but he
did not elaborate. South Korea had previously proposed a plan that
would provide energy assistance to North Korea, but that proposal
received little attention during the session, Hill said.
Japan proposed that the six parties establish working groups
responsible for the first two issue areas. Likewise, Hill said Nov. 11
that the participants may designate groups of lower-level officials to
work on the technical details related to North Korea's declaration
and dismantlement of its nuclear facilities. The six parties should
also hold "technical discussions" before the next session in order
to devise a proper implementation scheme, he added. The other
participants appear to support the concept of establishing working
groups, but no final plan has been formulated.
Japan, North Korea Meet
Japanese and North Korean officials also met in early November to
discuss issues related to normalizing their relations, such as
constraining North Korea's ballistic missile programs and resolving
concerns related to abductions of Japanese citizens during the Cold
War.
The two sides did not appear to make progress, but Japanese Vice
Foreign Minister Shotaro Yachi suggested that they might meet later in
December, the Kyodo News Service reported Nov. 28.
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| User: "Werewolfy" |
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| Title: Re: North Korea Nuclear Talks Stall |
06 Dec 2005 03:13:47 AM |
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"The two sides did not appear to make progress.."
Who cares? Arm the world with atom bombs. Why not?
If US and Israel and China have the damned things..might as well let
everyone play with one or two.
Werewolfy
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