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South Korean Official Says Mistrust Between U.S., North Korea to Blame for Stalled Nuclear Talks
A senior South Korean official said today that mistrust between Pyongyang and Washington was to blame for the stalled six-way talks on North Korea’s nuclear program, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, Dec. 21). “North Korea doesn’t trust the outside world — that is to say the United States — and America doesn’t trust North Korea. This is the main reason why we haven’t started the negotiations,” South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said in a speech at Beijing University while visiting China for talks on the nuclear standoff. “What is most important is the normalization of relations between North Korea and the United States, and the North should also establish diplomatic relations with Japan,” he added. North Korea must end its nuclear program, rejoin the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and admit International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors, Chung said. In return, Washington should be prepared to “safeguard” the regime of Kim Jong Il, lift economic sanctions against North Korea and normalize relations between the two countries, Chung said. “In 2005 we will be at a crossroad: we can either find a breakthrough in resolving the matter or we can face a crisis situation,” he said (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, Dec. 22). South Korea continues to urge North Korea through China and other diplomatic channels to resume six-party talks, South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon told the Yonhap news agency today. “Unification Minister Chung Dong-young, in his capacity as a presidential envoy, met high-level Chinese officials and asked the Chinese government to play more roles necessary,” he said. “I cannot say when the six-party talks will resume, but we will continue every possible diplomatic effort” (Yonhap/BBC Monitoring, Dec. 22).
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