International   

Hopes of deal at Beijing talks

Pallavi Aiyar

Six-party dialogue extended by a day

Beijing: The six-party talks aimed at the denuclearisation of North Korea got a new lease of life on Monday with envoys agreeing to extend the negotiations by one more day.

The talks were initially scheduled to end on Monday, and given that discussions had faltered over the weekend over Pyongyang's demand for a huge infusion of energy aid, many analysts felt that like previous rounds, this one too was doomed to end without any tangible progress.

Bilateral meeting

However, envoys from Washington and North Korea had a bilateral meeting on Monday, raising hopes once again for a last-minute deal.

"Talks are expected to continue tomorrow because discussions are ongoing in depth in an ever more serious mood," a South Korean official said of the meetings, according to Chinese media.

Negotiators from North and South Korea, the United States, Russia, Japan and China have agreed on most parts of an accord that would oblige Pyongyang to shut down nuclear facilities in return for economic and security assurances.

However, the negotiations have been bogged down over a single paragraph of a draft accord circulated by the host China. Although envoys have not gone into details regarding the content of this paragraph, it is known to be related to the specifics of the energy aid package North Korea would receive in return for shutting down its Yongbyon nuclear plant within a period of two months.

On Monday morning, U.S. chief negotiator Christopher Hill urged North Korea to stop haggling over details and strike a deal.

"I don't think there's any need to do any more bargaining. They just need to make a decision," he said, adding that failure to make progress in this round of talks would have repercussions.

"There's a certain life-cycle to these negotiations," Mr. Hill told reporters.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Baglihar verdict morally binding: Pakistan
Putin offers nuclear know-how to Riyadh
Hopes of deal at Beijing talks
11 killed in Sri Lanka
Dixie Chicks top Grammy winners
A tryst with a dyeing art
Rare bacteria detected
Terror sweep in Italy
`Rang De Basanti' loses at BAFTA awards

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu