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North Korea's foreign minister Paek Nam-sun (second from left) holds a meeting with his Thai counterpart in Pyongyang.
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Talk of informal six-party talks at Kuala Lumpur meeting
With tensions escalating following North Korea’s test launch of several missiles in early July, and the signing of a United Nations Security Council resolution against the nation, attention is focused on whether the United States will agree to bilateral or multilateral talks with the North at the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum to take place July 27-28 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Ban Ki-moon said at a regular briefing session on July 19, "If North Korean Foreign Minister Paek Nam-sun comes [to the forum], all the foreign ministers of the six nations of the nuclear negotiations will be taking part in the meeting," saying that some had raised the idea of holding talks between the six nations during the ASEAN forum in Kuala Lumpur. "But it is possible to have five-way talks without North Korea, even if we don’t hear [Pyongyang’s position]." The six nations involved in talks on North Korea’s nuclear program are the two Koreas, China, Japan, the U.S., and Russia. The talks have been stalled since November last year, when the North took issue with U.S. sanctions leveled against it and refused to return to further rounds of negotiations.To materialize a six-party ministerial discussion, Minister Paek would need to participate in the ASEAN forum. The Malaysian government publicly announced on July 11 that Minister Paek would join the meeting and Minister Ban also confirmed this at a regular briefing on July 12. Minister Ban, however, stepped back later, saying, "Due to several circumstances, such as the U.N. Security Council resolution, nothing has been decided. We are trying to confirm whether or not Paek will come." Minister Paek boycotted the forum the last two times it was held, in 2001 and 2003. A high-ranking official of the South Korean government, asking to remain anonymous, remarked yesterday, "Until now, there have been no signs that Minister Paek will boycott the ASEAN forum, because Pyongyang has agreed to have two-way talks with Malaysia and Thailand [during the forum]." Even if Minister Paek comes to Malaysia, it is not clear if he will accept the "six-party foreign ministers’ meeting," which South Korea and the U.S. have been pursuing. Pyongyang did not agree to join unofficial six-nation talks suggested by Beijing earlier this month. Instead, Minister Paek may demand a bilateral discussion with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, but Washington is not keen on this idea. Rice has reportedly expressed her position that she agreed with the idea of six-nation foreign ministers’ talks, but not with a bilateral ministerial meeting between the U.S. and North Korea. In the case that the North bows out of the six-nation option, China may not accept the five-way foreign ministers’ talks. China is the North’s closest ally, although it did sign the U.N. Security Council resolution against the North. The South Korean government official declared, "A breakthrough is not likely to be made at the ASEAN forum."
