Global Security Newswire

Japan, South Korea and the United States are expected to discuss North Korea's nuclear arms program when their representatives to the stalled six-party talks meet at the East Asia Summit on Saturday in Bali, Indonesia, an unnamed Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry official said in remarks reported on Wednesday by the Korea Times (see GSN, Nov. 9).

Though the three-way meeting has not been finalized, it would likely involve the top nuclear negotiators from Tokyo and Seoul as well as U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, who would fill in for Glyn Davies, the newly appointed U.S. representative to the six-nation negotiation process focused on irreversible North Korean denuclearization.

The three allies would likely attempt to align their postures on the conditions necessary to relaunch the paralyzed regional talks that also involve China, Russia and North Korea. The aid-for-denuclearization negotiations were last held nearly three years ago (Kang Hyun-kyung, Korea Times, Nov. 9).

U.S. President Obama is also anticipated to discuss the North Korean nuclear impasse when he meets with the Chinese, Russian and Japanese heads of state for one-on-one talks in Hawaii on Saturday at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, the Yonhap News Agency reported.

"We'll, of course, address with the Russians a broad number of other issues, from nuclear security, nonproliferation, Iran, North Korea, and the full gamut of U.S.-Russia relations," Deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes told journalists.

Rhodes said he anticipated "nonproliferation issues and issues associated with Iran and North Korea (will be addressed)" when Obama speaks with Chinese President Hu Jintao.

After the APEC forum, Obama is slated to travel to Indonesia where he will participate in the East Asia Summit on the island of Bali. That meeting's agenda is to include a number of nonproliferation-related items, according to Rhodes.

"Of course, you have an ongoing proliferation concern in the region, with North Korea. So I'm sure the president will be addressing in his meetings our commitment to denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula," the White House adviser stated (Yonhap News Agency/Korea Times, Nov. 10).

The South Korean Foreign Ministry announced that Seoul's top negotiator to the six-party talks, Lim Sung-nam, is scheduled next week to discuss the North with Davies when the two men meet in Vienna, Austria, Agence France-Presse reported (Agence France-Presse, Nov. 10).

Meanwhile, the United States' new ambassador to South Korea, Sung Kim, arrived at his new post on Thursday, vowing to uphold the long-standing alliance between Seoul and Washington, the Korea Herald reported.

"When you look at the question of the North Korean nuclear problem, the most important part of the solution is the close cooperation and coordination between Washington and Seoul," Kim said upon arriving in Seoul.

Prior to taking up the ambassadorship, Kim represented the United States at the six-party talks (Shin Hae-in, Korea Herald, Nov. 10).