[Editorial] Avoiding Comments That Could Hurt 6-Party Talks

The fifth round of six-party talks on the North Korean nuclear issue begin Wednesday in Beijing. There is a lot of pressure in terms of the timetable, since the delegates to the talks will be at the APEC summit in Busan on November 18 and 19, but the talks are more important than they have ever been before. The talks need to successfully lay the stepping-stones to the concrete implementation of the September 19 Joint Declaration adopted at the fourth round of talks.

The joint declaration is recognized for peacefully having achieved a breakthrough, and it is based in the proactive will of the participating nations. The political decisions and commitments made by North Korea and the United States will be key links in the process. Steps to a resolution will be available only when those two parties act in good faith and build mutual trust, based on the principle of "word for word, action for action." In that sense, the road ahead remains rough and distant.

The Bush Administration holds the keys to resolving the issue, and yet hard-liners from within are said to be pressuring the negotiators, saying that "too much has been conceded to Pyongyang" already. That is what adds to concerns about the future of the talks. The analysis that it was conflict between moderates and hard-liners that led U.S. delegate Christopher Hill to cancel his trip to North Korea can be seen in the same context. It is in that sense that it is very regrettable that president Bush has again labeled North Korea's National Defence Commission chairman Kim Jong Il a "tyrant," and it makes you doubt the true intentions of the U.S. government for ruining the trust that has been built with such effort. We hope that Pyongyang's delegation to the talks does not make the atmosphere worse by overreacting.

These latest talks will allow you to measure how serious the participating nations are in implementing what is agreed on, as that is what will bolster the framework for the North giving up its nuclear programs with the aim of a nuclear-free peninsula and the "corresponding measures" by the five nations talking with North Korea. It is essential that the delegations are serious and negotiate in good faith. One hopes to see these talks be productive, with honest dialogue based on vision on the part of each nation for advancing peace on the peninsula.

The Hankyoreh, 9 November 2005.

[Translations by Seoul Selection]