Posted on : Jan.17,2005 01:43 KST Modified on : Jan.17,2005 01:43 KST

There are signs the six-party talks that have been stalled for 6 months might begin again. Curt Weldon, vice chairman of the United States' House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, has just returned from North Korea. What he says is particularly noteworthy. While in Pyongyang, he met with Kim Yong Nam, chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, and other leaders. Weldon said he told them the US does not want a change of system in North Korea and that it has no intention of engaging in a preemptive attack, and that six-party talks could take place within weeks.

North Korea's attitude is encouraging. North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) recently reported that what they were told by the two American Congressmen becomes policy for the Bush Administration's second term there would be a reopening of the six-party talks and it would ultimately seek the resolution of all issues facing the two countries. The fact that the two Congressmen were able to take 1,000 pictures and 4 hours of video without any restrictions whatsoever points to the North's constructive approach.

If this is how the mood is going to be then there should be no reason why the six-party talks don't get started again. The mutual distrust that has accumulated between the US and North Korea during recent years remains a major obstacle. That, too, can be overcome if there is only the will do to so. One good opportunity lies ahead in the State of the Union speech due from US President George W. Bush. North Korea believes that if it gives up its nuclear program for nothing in exchange its very political system will be at risk, and so seeks sure assurances. Unconditional demands that it give up on its nuclear ambitions will, therefore, only make resolving the problem more difficult. If Bush acknowledges that, it is evident that he does so in his State of the Union address, and he recognizes North Korea as a partner in negotiations, then the six-party talks could see rapid progress. In the end, it is the US which holds the keys to restarting and making progress in the talks.

North Korea needs to remember that time is not on its side. If there is not a breakthrough on the nuclear issue within a matter of months, there could be a breakdown in the whole framework of the talks. Our government needs to do what it can to foster a mood conducive to a reopening of the talks and it needs to do its best to create a realistic proposal.


The Hankyoreh, 17 January 2005.

[Translations by Seoul Selection (PMS)]

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