Six-nation talks aimed at defusing international tension over North Korea's nuclear program will likely resume next week after a 13-month hiatus, with final consultations among parties concerned on a date under way, South Korean government officials said Sunday.
"We are making preparations with the expectation that the next round of talks will open in the week starting Dec. 18," an official said, requesting anonymity, in a background briefing for local media. "China, which chairs the talks, is expected to announce the exact date as early as today."
He admitted China initially proposed resuming the talks on Dec.16, but said it is unlikely due to some unexpected problems. He did not provide details.
A diplomatic source said earlier in the day that there are no differences of opinion among all the participating nations.
North Korea and its dialogue partners in the negotiations do not want to waste time any more, the source said. The other partners are South Korea, the U.S., China, Russia and Japan.
The Associated Press also cited an unnamed U.S. official as saying that the talks are likely to reopen on Dec. 18 and continue for three to five days.
North Korea is said to have already expressed its intention of rejoining the nuclear talks as early as this weekend.
If the North Koreans come back to the table, it would be the first nuclear session involving all six members of the Beijing-based forum since the communist regime conducted a nuclear test in October and U.S. Republicans lost the majority of both houses of Congress to the Democrats in the mid-term elections the following month. "We are going back," U.S. chief nuclear envoy Christopher Hill was quoted as telling the Washington Post. Hill said the upcoming session will last a few days and then take a break before the Christmas holidays, hinting at the possibility that the talks will be reconvened soon, possibly in January. He gave no specific date.
It was not known whether Pyongyang responded to a Washington-offered package of incentives and demands for the dismantlement of its nuclear program.
Late last month, Hill had bilateral and trilateral meetings with his counterparts in the six-way talks, Kim Kye-gwan of North Korea and Wu Dawei of China. Kim said he would give an answer after reviewing the offer with his colleagues in Pyongyang.
Details of the closed-door meetings remain a secret, but sources said Hill called for the North to halt the operation of its graphite-moderated reactor in Yongbyon and allow inspections by the IAEA of its nuclear facilities.
The Asahi Shimbun, a Japanese daily, reported Sunday that China took the initiative to broker a deal between the key players in the negotiations.
China suggested that North Korea immediately stop operating its nuclear facilities as the first step. It also proposed the creation of a review body to help normalize diplomatic ties with the U.S. and Japan as a reward.
The move to resume multilateral talks within this month is understood to show how Pyongyang and Washington are ready to discuss contentious issues, analysts here said.
The U.S. has said it would not agree to reopen the talks without being confident of progress, they added.
South Korea's political parties hailed the news as a positive outcome.
"The first substantial step to resolve the nuclear crisis is expected as the upcoming talks come on the heels of various preliminary meetings between the U.S. and North Korea," Rep. Im Jong-seok of the ruling Uri Party said.
Rep. Yoo Ki-jun of the main opposition Grand National Party said, "It should be a stage for North Korea to take concrete measures to make good on its promise to abandon its nuclear weapons." "We expect a step forward from the Sept. 19 joint statement in terms of affirming North Korea's will to dismantle its nuclear program and return to the NPT and IAEA, as well as the U.S. pledge for security guarantees and economic aid," he added.
He was referring to the six-way agreement last year, in which North Korea vowed to give up its nuclear program in return for U.S.-led incentives.
The six-way talks members have yet to hammer out a road map for the implementation of the statement, which lacks a clear timeline for when the agreed measures will be put into place.
Seoul, Dec. 10 (Yonhap News)
Nuclear talks likely to reconvene next week: sources |
