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U.S. Shows Flexibility in Wording Demands of North Korea
The United States has said it is willing to use wording other than “complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantlement” in reference to its efforts to shut down North Korea’s suspected nuclear weapons program, the Yonhap News Agency reported yesterday (see GSN, June 7). “At the first six-nation working group meeting held in Beijing last month, the chief U.S. delegate, Joseph DeTrani, said it is all right to use a different expression with regard to ‘CVID’ as long as its principles are kept,” said an anonymous South Korean official. “Considering this, the United States is expected not to stick to the term CVID,” added the official. North Korea objects to the term (Yonhap, June 7). Meanwhile, China said today that no date has yet been set for the next round of six-party talks on the nuclear standoff with North Korea, Agence France-Presse reported. Previous reports had the negotiations scheduled for June 23-25 in Beijing. “I’ve seen reports about the date of the six-party talks, but to be frank with you, the date has not been finalized yet,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said. “Various parties have put forward proposals for when the talks should be held. The Chinese side will consult with the other parties in order to achieve consensus for an early date,” he added (Agence France-Presse, June 8). Elsewhere, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said he believes North Korean leader Kim Jong Il intends to dismantle his nuclear programs, based on talks to two leaders held in Pyongyang last month, the Financial Times reported. “He [Kim] clearly stated that the objective was denuclearization,” Koizumi said. “He further stated very clearly that freezing of the nuclear program is to be accompanied by verification,” he added. “I told him face to face that, if you compare what you gain from nuclear weapons with what you gain from dismantling them, it is like the difference between heaven and earth,” Koizumi went on. “I felt personally that North Korea is interested in moving forward,” he said. The interpretation of Kim’s remarks by Koizumi may be regarded as naive, according to the Financial Times. Many experts believe North Korea has bought time by engaging in the six-party talks in order to continue its nuclear development, the Times reported. Some experts also speculate that Kim is attempting to drive a wedge between Japan and other parties to the talks by bringing Koizumi into bilateral talks, according to the Times (David Pilling, Financial Times, June 7).
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