United States Will Not Offer Concessions at Next North Korea Meeting

The United States will not offer economic or energy aid to North Korea if another round of six-nation negotiations take place, a senior Bush administration official said yesterday (see GSN, Dec. 18).

Earlier this year, China hosted a meeting of diplomats from North and South Korea, Japan, Russia and the United States in an attempt to defuse tensions over Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons development. Another round of talks were tentatively scheduled for this month but has been delayed.

The “six-party process is alive and well,” although it is “inherently difficult to get on the same page,” the official said.

North Korea has said that it will not abandon its nuclear weapons programs unless the United States provides aid and a nonaggression pact. Instead of offering such concessions, however, the White House will seek information on how North Korea would dismantle its nuclear development, the official said (Glenn Kessler, Washington Post, Dec. 19).

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