China has proposed a plan to begin multilateral negotiations among the United States, North Korea and other Northeast Asian countries, the New York Times reported today (see GSN, July 15).

“Right now it is critical to continue the process of the talks,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan said.

“It is of critical importance to the peace, stability and development of the East Asian and Asian region,” Kong added.

Deputy Chinese Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo returned from Pyongyang yesterday after delivering the details of the plan in a letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.  The multilateral meetings would include sideline talks between Washington and Pyongyang, potentially satisfying North Korea’s desire for direct contact with U.S. officials.

“China has been very clear that it remains open and flexible on the participants and the formalities of the talks,” Kong said (Joseph Kahn, New York Times, July 16).

North Korea reportedly told the United States it would agree to multilateral talks if Washington promises not to undermine the Pyongyang leadership.

“We would be ready to accept five-nation talks if a promise was made to guarantee (the survival of) the regime,” a North Korean diplomat said, according to a Japanese newspaper (Reuters, July 16).

The White House meanwhile said it could not confirm North Korean claims to have reprocessed all of its 8,000 spent nuclear fuel rods, a key step toward building a nuclear weapon.  Some senior officials said North Korea might be bluffing.

“The point is, they’re not going to spook us,” an official said.  “They’ve got to understand that they don’t get anywhere just by trying to up the level of blackmail,” the officials added (Sonni Efron, Los Angeles Times, July 16).

The U.S. Defense Department, meanwhile, said it is taking North Korea’s comments seriously.

“When they told us they had nuclear weapons, they meant it,” Lawrence Di Rita, an aide to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, said.  “Certainly what they’ve told us in the past has been worth paying attention to,” he added (Associated Press/Newsday, July 16).

The White House is also considering allowing thousands of North Korean refugees to emigrate to the United States as a means of increasing the pressure on Pyongyang.

Such a move would most likely increase attempts at emigration from North Korea.  Refugees mostly escape into China, which usually repatriates them, and encouraging more emigration could cause trouble with Beijing, the Washington Post reported.

“The Chinese will be enraged by this,” an official said (Glenn Kessler, Washington Post, July 16).

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