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Bush Hopes North Korea’s Kim Will See “Common Sense” During Nuclear Negotiations
U.S. President George W. Bush yesterday said he hoped the resumption of multilateral negotiations on North Korea’s nuclear effort next week would make North Korean leader Kim Jong Il see “common sense” and give up his atomic ambitions, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, July 19). “We’re sincere about working with China and South Korea and Japan and Russia to bring some common sense to the leader of North Korea,” Bush said (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, July 19). Washington plans to remain engaged in the talks “as long as it is useful,” the U.S. Embassy in China announced today. Undersecretary of State Christopher Hill is expected in Beijing this weekend, heading the U.S. delegation to the talks, the embassy spokeswoman said (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, July 20). Both North and South Korea warned against bringing up at the talks issues of Pyongyang’s Cold War-era abductions of Japanese nationals and alleged human rights abuses. “Such disturbing actions as slandering ... a dialogue partner cannot help the talks progress into a positive direction and will only bring conflict and a breakdown in the end,” the official Korean Central News Agency announced (Bo Mi-Lim, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, July 20). Japan has thus far “stood in the way” of the talks, KCNA added. “The negative role played by Japan at the previous rounds of the talks compels the D.P.R.K. not to deal with Japan even if the talks are resumed.” South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said the focus of the talks must remain on Pyongyang’s nuclear program, AFP reported. “We have to understand clearly what the six-party talks are all about. It won’t be helpful to achieve this goal if we raise the issues of disarmament (of conventional weapons), human rights or kidnapping,” he told the Hankyoreh newspaper (Park Chan-kyong, Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, July 20). Seoul also announced that all parties to the talks have expressed willingness to extend the dialogue sessions beyond the standard four days, allowing for greater consultation with home countries and more comprehensive discussions, Reuters reported. “The countries will try to reach a substantive agreement this time by having sufficient discussions, even if that takes time,” said South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon (Jack Kim, Reuters, July 20).
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