Six-Party Talks Could Resume Next Week

Six-party talks on North Korea’s nuclear program could resume as soon as next week, after Pyongyang expressed discomfort with plans to conduct negotiations this week, a South Korean official told Agence France-Presse today (see GSN, Sept. 17).

“North Korea was feeling uncomfortable with the Sept. 19 opening of the six-party talks.  It gave no reason,” the official said.  He said the negotiations are likely to begin again “sometime after the Chuseok holiday” on Sept. 25.

“I do not take the delay seriously.  It has not always been easy to handle North Koreans.  I believe it has nothing to do with the future prospects for six-party talks,” the official said.

The U.S. State Department indicated that the negotiations would be held in Beijing a week after the original date, AFP reported.

Pyongyang agreed in February to close its nuclear program, in exchange for energy, security and diplomatic benefits from the other nations in the multilateral discussions — China, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States.  It has halted operations at its Yongbyon nuclear complex and expressed willingness to fully disclose and disable nuclear facilities.

Reports that Syria has been receiving help from North Korea in building a nuclear facility could undermine that progress, according to AFP (see GSN, Sept. 17).

Pyongyang has denied the reports, today calling them an effort to undo efforts to strengthen diplomatic ties with the United States, Reuters reported.

“This is sheer misinformation,” a North Korean Foreign Ministry official told the KCNA news agency.

“The above-said story is nothing but a clumsy plot hatched by the dishonest forces who do not like to see any progress at the six-party talks and in the D.P.R.K.-U.S. relations,” the spokesman said (Reuters/Washington Post, Sept. 18).

There should be no immediate impact from the Syria allegations on the six-party talks, observers told the Korea Herald.

“It appears that the information is being leaked to the press in order to show North Korea that they (the U.S.) also have a card they can use to pressure them,” said Kim Tae-woo, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses.

“Should North Korea really be proven to have participated in proliferating nuclear programs, the repercussions will be more than what the U.S. government could handle,” he said (Lee Joo-hee, Korea Herald, Sept. 18).

Meanwhile, the first shipment of Chinese fuel oil to North Korea arrived Sunday at the port of Nampo, Reuters reported.  The postponed talks had also been linked to delays in oil delivery.

“China’s oil aid plan is currently being put in place, and we hope it will be completed soon,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu.

North Korea stands to receive a total of 1 million tons of oil and related assistance in return for denuclearization.  South Korea has already supplied 50,000 tons, and the United States is expected to ship another 50,000 when China completes this delivery (Reuters).

Back to top
About Newswire  |  Contact National Journal  |  Re-Use Guidelines © Copyright 2008 by National Journal Group, Inc. The material in this section is produced independently for NTI by National Journal Group, Inc. Any reproduction or retransmission, in whole or in part, is a violation of federal law and is strictly prohibited without the consent of the National Journal Group, Inc. All rights reserved.