No Progress Made at 6-Way Talks

On December 21, delegations from the U.S. and North Korea met for a third time in Beijing to discuss ending North Korea’s nuclear programs.

It is reported, however, that no tangible progress was made because N.K continued to insist that the Banco Delta Asia (BDA) issue be dealt with first.

Local sources said, “The meeting did not make any difference.” Christopher R. Hill, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, is reported to have met Wu Dawei, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of China, after the talks with the North that started at 3:05 p.m. (local time) and lasted for 2 hours.

China, which is chairing the 5th round of the 6-way talks, is expected to make a decision soon on when to end the talks after seeing the results of the meeting between Washington and Pyongyang.

Reportedly, China’s foreign ministry has decided to end the multi-lateral talks on December 22 as announced. Sources did not rule out a possible twist in the talks by saying, “We need to see what happens in the talks as they are scheduled to end tomorrow.”