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North Korea: Diplomats to Meet Ahead of North Korea Talks As they prepare for six-nation talks on the North Korean nuclear crisis, U.S. diplomats will host South Korean and Japanese envoys in Washington tomorrow (see GSN, Aug. 11). The preliminary talks are expected to take place tomorrow and Thursday, according to State Department spokesman Philip Reeker. The six-way talks are scheduled to begin later this month, perhaps Aug. 26 or 27 (BBC online, Aug. 13). During the three-nation talks this week, diplomats are discussing how to convey their positions to North Korea most effectively. “It is still undecided whether the three nations will make a joint proposal or go to the (multilateral) talks with individual offers. This will be determined in Washington this time,” said South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Soo-hyuck (Seo Hyun-jin, Korea Herald, Aug. 12). Bolton Will Not Attend After angering Pyongyang recently with harsh criticisms of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, top U.S. arms control official John Bolton will not take part in the negotiations, Reuters reported today. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said, however, that many in Washington supported Bolton’s comments. “Mr. Bolton was not scheduled and will not be participating in these talks,” Armitage said (Michelle Nichols, Reuters, Aug. 12). China, meanwhile, announced its support for a Russian plan to guarantee North Korea’s security in exchange for Pyongyang scrapping its nuclear weapons program. Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov met in Beijing Monday (Kyodo News Agency, Aug. 12).
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