Six-Nation Talks, Unclear Whether to Be Held This Year

On November 3, the Japanese daily Mainichi Shimbun reported that the timing of the second round of the six-nation talks, aimed at persuading North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons programs, is now unclear and it is not sure if it will be held by the end of this year because of the difference in viewpoints between the United States and North Korea.

The U.S. tried to insert the phrase, “Abandon Nuclear Program” on the written agreement which will be produced at the end of the second round of talks, but North Korea gave priority to “Guarantee Safety” instead, and the chasm between each nations’ viewpoint became harder to meditate, Mainichi Shimbun passed on, quoting the remarks of the source from the U.S-Japanese foreign affairs field.

In particular, North Korea is trying to make it clear that the supply of crude petroleum should be resumed, reported Asahi Shimbun on Wednesday. North Korea informed this intention when the China’s Director-General of the Department of Asian Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Fu Ying, met with the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Asian Pacific Affairs, James Kelly, but it is known that their request has been turned down.

One of the U.S. officials, under the condition of anonymity, remarked that the second round of talks was expected to be held in the middle of December, but since North Korea is wary about the requests of direct and irreparable abandonment of nuclear weapons programs from the U.S., there is a chance for postponing the talks to next year.

This official answered “Yes” to the question about whether the talks could be delayed to January or February of next year.

About the exact date of resuming the six-nation talks, “We expect the talks to resume as soon as possible, but we do not have anything to talk about regarding details such as the date of the conference,” revealed the U.S. spokesperson for the State Department, Adam Ereli.

Following the conference between Kelly and Fu, Korean assistant foreign minister, Lee Soo-hyuk, and Japanese head of Asian Affairs Department in the Foreign Ministry, Yabunaka Mitoji, are scheduled to discuss the next round of the six-nation talks, and will attract public attentions.

In particular, Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao is scheduled to have a talk with U.S. President George W. Bush on Sunday, and there is still room for holding the talks this year, passed on the Japanese dailies.

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