Chinese Mandarin - N.Korea nuclear talks resume amid optimism

WORLD / Asia-Pacific

N.Korea nuclear talks resume amid optimism

(AP)
Updated: 2007-02-08 12:42

North Korea's negotiator for the six-party talks Kim Kye-gwan speaks to
the media after arriving in Beijing's airport February 8, 2007. Six-party
talks aimed at dismantling North Korea's nuclear programme resume in
Beijing on Thursday with the top US envoy denying a Japanese media report
that North Korea had signed a deal with Washington. [Reuters]

International talks on North Korea's nuclear program convene Thursday
amid a new sense of optimism about the possibility of the first tangible
progress on North Korea's disarmament since negotiations began more than
three years ago.

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The main US envoy said he senses "there is a real desire to have
progress" on the part of the North Koreans in talks aimed at dismantling
Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program.

"We are prepared to discuss first-stage measures," the North's nuclear
envoy Kim Kye Gwan said on arriving in Beijing for the six-nation
negotiations set to start later Thursday.

Media reports have suggested the North may agree to freeze its main
nuclear reactor and allow international inspectors in exchange for energy
aid as a starting step to disarm.

But Kim said any moves by North Korea would be determined by the United
States' attitude.

"We are going to make a judgment based on whether the United States will
give up its hostile policy and come out toward peaceful coexistence," he
said, adding that Washington was "well-aware" of what it had to do.

"I'm not either optimistic or pessimistic because there are still many
points of confrontation to resolve," Kim said.

Ahead of the six-nation talks, North Korea had signaled it was satisfied
with changes in the United States' attitude, and there appeared to be a
greater willingness on all sides to compromise on issues that had
deadlocked previous talks.

But US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill denied a report in a
Japanese newspaper Thursday that the United States and North Korea had
signed a memorandum during bilateral talks last month agreeing that
Pyongyang's first steps toward denuclearization and US energy support
would begin simultaneously.

"We did not sign anything," Hill told reporters, but added he was hopeful
the Beijing talks would lead to tangible progress.

"If we're successful we could get to the point where we are discussing
technical matters at working groups," he said.

Japanese envoy Kenichiro Sasae said the main goal of the current round of
talks was to make concrete progress toward disarmament.

"We are prepared to do our utmost toward this goal, and we strongly hope
and are certain that North Korea has come prepared to do that," Sasae
said in Beijing.

The lack of progress at the arms negotiations has raised the issue of the
credibility of the talks. Since 2003, they have produced only a single
agreement in September 2005 on principles for North Korea to abandon its
nuclear program in exchange for aid and pledges that Washington won't
invade North Korea.

Negotiators said it was key to take the first steps to implement that
September 2005 agreement at this week's talks, which bring together
China, Japan, Russia, the United States and the two Koreas.

"When we do get a set of actions, or if we do, it will widely be seen as
a very solid positive step for the implementation of the September
agreement, with the understanding that there is no success till we
implement the full agreement," Hill said Thursday.

"So we have got a lot of work to do today and in the coming days and
probably in following meetings of the six parties," he said.

The latest nuclear standoff with North Korea was sparked in late 2002
after Washington accused Pyongyang of a secret uranium enrichment program
in violation of a 1994 deal between the two countries. North Korea kicked
out nuclear inspectors and restarted its main reactor, moves that
culminated in the country's first-ever test atomic detonation in October.

Although the US, China and Russia backed UN sanctions in the wake of the
nuclear test, Washington has since engaged in a series of diplomatic
overtures that have drawn praise from Pyongyang.

That includes Hill's trip to Germany last month to meet North Korean
nuclear envoy Kim Kye Gwan. The North said after that the sides had
reached an unspecified agreement, but the specifics of what they
discussed have not been made public.

Washington has also held separate talks on financial restrictions it has
placed on a Macau-based bank where North Korea held accounts, accusing it
of complicity in the regime's alleged counterfeiting and money
laundering. Blacklisting that bank has scared off other financial
institutions from dealings with North Korea for fears of losing access to
the US market.

North Korea had earlier demanded the financial restrictions be lifted for
it to disarm, and refused to talk about anything besides that issue at
the last nuclear talks in December.

No end date has been set for this round of talks, but Hill has said the
Chinese hosts expected the talks to last a few days and the sides would
start reviewing a draft agreement Friday.

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