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U.S. Reaffirms Nonaggression Policy on North Korea
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill today repeated Washington’s pledge not to invade North Korea, as the six-nation talks on Pyongyang’s nuclear program resumed in Beijing. This round of talks is the first since June 2004 (see GSN, July 25). “We view (North Korea’s) sovereignty as a matter of fact. The United States has absolutely no intention to invade or attack” North Korea, Hill said. Hill added that once the nuclear issue is resolved, the United States would be willing to address North Korea’s security and energy concerns (Associated Press/San Marcos Daily Record, Alexa Olesen, July 26). Officials in Washington said the U.S. delegation was prepared to remain in China for weeks of negotiations, the New York Times reported. “We’re determined to make sure it’s different this time,” said one senior administration official. “We want to force the North Koreans to make a choice: either to show that they are serious, or to make clear to everyone else that they are fundamentally not prepared to give up their weapons” (Yardley/Sanger, New York Times, July 26). Major disagreements remained after yesterday’s bilateral meetings, with Washington still committed to the position that Pyongyang must first dismantle its nuclear programs before receiving any compensation, a North Korean source told Interfax. “The D.P.R.K. continues to follow its ‘tactics of simultaneous steps,’ which envisions the D.P.R.K.’s abandonment of its nuclear programs if the U.S. withdraws its nuclear arms from the south of the Korean Peninsula and the participants in the negotiations pay compensation to North Korea,” the source said (Ueno/Beck, Reuters, July 26). South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Song Min-soon urged the United States to normalize relations with Pyongyang, Agence France-Presse reported. “With our proposal as the starting point, I hope that the D.P.R.K. will make a clear commitment to give up its nuclear ambitions and the other countries will also make a clear commitment to take corresponding measures such as the normalization of relations and security assurances,” Song said in his opening statement at the talks (Agence France-Presse/Forbes.com, July 26). Japan raised the issue of Pyongyang’s abduction of Japanese nationals during the Cold War at the opening of the talks today, Reuters reported. China’s People’s Daily today criticized the Japanese policy. “The North Korea nuclear question is one of collective security and thus should be resolved within the scope of security,” the official daily said. “Any attempt to include all the issues and seek a ‘package solution’ will further complicate matters and achieve something that goes against the wishes of all sides,” the statement says (Teruaki Ueno, Reuters, July 26). Japan does not plan at these negotiations to offer fuel to North Korea due to the lack of progress on the abductions issue, as well as South Korea’s unilateral decision to offer energy aid, the Asahi Shimbun reported yesterday. Tokyo would only “seek normalization of relations after nuclear and abduction issues are resolved,” an official said (Asahi Shimbun, July 25). South Korea plans to begin laying the groundwork for electricity assistance to the North as soon as Pyongyang agrees to dismantle its nuclear program, Yonhap reported today (Yonhap/BBC Monitoring, July 26).
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