The Hindu : Six-party talks fail to make progress

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 29, 2004

International

International

Six-party talks fail to make progress

By P. S. Suryanarayana

SINGAPORE, FEB. 28. The second round of six-party talks on the North Korean nuclear weapons `programme' concluded in Beijing today with no formal agreement on any substantive issue. China, which hosted the four-day conference, said that a consensus had been reached to set up a working group and arrange another round.

Earlier, the United States characterised the current process as a `useful' exercise for the ``complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantlement'' of North Korea's nuclear weapons `programmes' [in the plurality of a plutonium-based plan and a uranium-derived one]. Besides North Korea, China and the United States, the other participants are South Korea, Japan and Russia.

The Chinese Foreign Minister, Li Zhaoxing, addressing the closing ceremony of the second round, said that the consensus was of ``great importance in pushing forward the process of dialogue.'' The ``valuable suggestions,'' made by the delegates on the basis of their `wisdom' and `reason,' represented ``a big step forward'' towards the realisation of the goal of a nuclear-weapons-free Korean peninsula, he said. Significantly, the U.S., too, regarded the latest parleys as a process in which key participants began to zero in on the need to ensure a North Korean de-nuclearisation with ``no exceptions.''

Mr. Li said: ``Some people may think that not enough progress was made and [that] the talks did not go fast enough. But, in my opinion, the achievements were hard-won.... since this round of talks had been started when mutual trust was lacking among [the] relevant sides and their differences were growing.''

According to South Korea's chief delegate, Lee Soo-hyuck, it was agreed that China, as the host, issue a document that would not amount to a joint statement as such. It was in this context that China called for coordinated steps for a peaceful resolution of the issues at stake. It was also indicated that efforts would be made to convene the next round no later than June, according to the South Korean side.

With the U.S. chief delegate, James Kelly, having called for a comprehensive dismantlement of North Korea's plural nuclear programmes, ``the disputes over North Korea's nuclear programme for peaceful purposes emerged as a contentious issue,'' South Korea indicated.

Russia expressed its preference for an accord on not only the abolition of North Korea's nuclear-weapons programme but also a commitment from the other five, including the U.S., to offer Pyongyang some suitable security assurances.

Japan said that it would want a total solution to all the ``North Korean issues'' inclusive of the nuclear question.

A Japanese spokesman said: ``Without there being a resolution of the abduction cases as part of a comprehensive solution of the North Korean issues, including the nuclear issue, Japan cannot participate in any sort of final solution which includes economic cooperation with North Korea.'' Tokyo's explicit inclusion of the issue concerning the Cold-War-era abductions of some Japanese nationals is of material consequence to the ``economic cooperation'' aspect that is part of the agenda now in focus.

Formally tabling a de-nuclearisation proposal during a plenary session, North Korea's chief delegate, Kim Kye-gwan said: ``We will abandon our nuclear weapons programme when the United States drops its hostile policy towards the DPRK.'' Related to this were questions whether Pyongyang was already in possession of any nuclear weapons and whether it could have a `peaceful' programme.

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