Seraphim
02-25-2004, 07:58 AM
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Negotiators from six countries shake hands before the start of talks on the North Korean nuclear crisis, in Beijing Wednesday Feb. 25, 2004. From left are U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly, South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Soo-hyuck, North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Japanese chief negotiator Mitoji Yabunaka and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov. (AP Photo/Greg Baker)
By AUDRA ANG, Associated Press Writer
BEIJING - South Korea (news - web sites) on Wednesday offered the North compensation for giving up its nuclear program and the United States said it had "no intention" of invading the reclusive nation as six-country talks on Pyongyang's atomic ambitions convened.
Despite an outwardly amiable atmosphere, the tensions of the moment — and the 16-month standoff between the United States and the North that led up to it — were clear.
The North's chief delegate, Kim Kye Gwan, said he would be "maintaining our principles" hours after his country issued a last-minute demand for compensation for shutting down the program.
Washington's delegate said nothing but a wholesale elimination of the nuclear activities would do.
"The United States seeks complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantlement of all North Korea (news - web sites)'s nuclear programs, both plutonium and uranium," Assistant U.S. Secretary of State James Kelly said in opening remarks.
At issue are allegations that Pyongyang has a uranium-based weapons program as well as its known plutonium-based one. North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's government has denied having a uranium-based program.
The dispute erupted in October 2002 when the United States said North Korea had acknowledged the existence of a nuclear program that violated a 1994 agreement that bound the impoverished country to renounce nuclear development in exchange for oil and other aid.
Talks on the dispute convened after months of efforts to get all six countries — North and South Korea, the United States, Japan, China and Russia — on board.
After the first session Wednesday, South Korea said it had proposed "countermeasures" if the North froze its nuclear program and showed signs of dismantling it. Seoul's head delegate, Lee Soo-hyuck, said he presented the proposal during the opening session.
"If it is such a freeze, we can push for countermeasures," Lee told reporters, using a term that is believed to refer to compensation for the North's giving up its nuclear ambitions.
He didn't elaborate, and it was unclear whether the United States had directly endorsed the proposal.
Last week, South Korean officials said Seoul was ready to resume energy aid to its communist neighbor after the dispute is resolved and the North dismantles its nuclear programs.
Lee said he had told North Korea that its freeze must cover all nuclear programs and be followed "in a short period of time" by steps toward a complete and verifiable dismantling of nuclear capabilities.
"A nuclear freeze should be an inseparable part of nuclear dismantlement. A nuclear freeze itself is not the goal. Dismantlement must be the goal," Lee said. He called on the North to address the uranium allegations.
The New York Times reported that the North will be offered fuel oil aid in return for a pledge to freeze and eventually dismantle its program. It said the offer was expected to be made by South Korea, not the United States, at the talks. It was unclear if that was the same as the offer disclosed by Lee.
A senior administration official in Washington refused to tell The Associated Press if an informal agreement had been made but said some U.S. allies have indicated a willingness to offer North Korea incentives.
The North also wants a nonaggression treaty with the United States, but Kelly said it had nothing to worry about.
"The United States has no intention of invading or attacking the DPRK," he said, using the initials for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Kelly later met with Kim one-on-one, though no details about their discussions were available.
Delegates clasped hands for a photo as they entered China's state guesthouse for the start of the meetings, which were to resume Thursday.
"The recent flurry of diplomacy is good preparation for these talks and helps in understanding," Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi told delegates at a six-sided table.
Kim, North Korea's vice premier, sounded an optimistic note.
"We hope that disagreement between each party can be narrowed as much as possible and the stalemate between North Korea and the United States can be resolved through dialogue," he said.
The compensation demand was a common maneuver for the North, which often announces hard-line positions and sometimes uses threats to pressure negotiating partners into making concessions.
The communist nation proposed in December that it freeze its nuclear activities in return for economic aid and other U.S. concessions. But Washington demanded that Pyongyang start to dismantle its nuclear programs first.
The latest meeting was brokered by Beijing, which is North Korea's last major communist ally and an important economic partner of the United States.
Negotiators from six countries shake hands before the start of talks on the North Korean nuclear crisis, in Beijing Wednesday Feb. 25, 2004. From left are U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly, South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Soo-hyuck, North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Japanese chief negotiator Mitoji Yabunaka and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov. (AP Photo/Greg Baker)
By AUDRA ANG, Associated Press Writer
BEIJING - South Korea (news - web sites) on Wednesday offered the North compensation for giving up its nuclear program and the United States said it had "no intention" of invading the reclusive nation as six-country talks on Pyongyang's atomic ambitions convened.
Despite an outwardly amiable atmosphere, the tensions of the moment — and the 16-month standoff between the United States and the North that led up to it — were clear.
The North's chief delegate, Kim Kye Gwan, said he would be "maintaining our principles" hours after his country issued a last-minute demand for compensation for shutting down the program.
Washington's delegate said nothing but a wholesale elimination of the nuclear activities would do.
"The United States seeks complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantlement of all North Korea (news - web sites)'s nuclear programs, both plutonium and uranium," Assistant U.S. Secretary of State James Kelly said in opening remarks.
At issue are allegations that Pyongyang has a uranium-based weapons program as well as its known plutonium-based one. North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's government has denied having a uranium-based program.
The dispute erupted in October 2002 when the United States said North Korea had acknowledged the existence of a nuclear program that violated a 1994 agreement that bound the impoverished country to renounce nuclear development in exchange for oil and other aid.
Talks on the dispute convened after months of efforts to get all six countries — North and South Korea, the United States, Japan, China and Russia — on board.
After the first session Wednesday, South Korea said it had proposed "countermeasures" if the North froze its nuclear program and showed signs of dismantling it. Seoul's head delegate, Lee Soo-hyuck, said he presented the proposal during the opening session.
"If it is such a freeze, we can push for countermeasures," Lee told reporters, using a term that is believed to refer to compensation for the North's giving up its nuclear ambitions.
He didn't elaborate, and it was unclear whether the United States had directly endorsed the proposal.
Last week, South Korean officials said Seoul was ready to resume energy aid to its communist neighbor after the dispute is resolved and the North dismantles its nuclear programs.
Lee said he had told North Korea that its freeze must cover all nuclear programs and be followed "in a short period of time" by steps toward a complete and verifiable dismantling of nuclear capabilities.
"A nuclear freeze should be an inseparable part of nuclear dismantlement. A nuclear freeze itself is not the goal. Dismantlement must be the goal," Lee said. He called on the North to address the uranium allegations.
The New York Times reported that the North will be offered fuel oil aid in return for a pledge to freeze and eventually dismantle its program. It said the offer was expected to be made by South Korea, not the United States, at the talks. It was unclear if that was the same as the offer disclosed by Lee.
A senior administration official in Washington refused to tell The Associated Press if an informal agreement had been made but said some U.S. allies have indicated a willingness to offer North Korea incentives.
The North also wants a nonaggression treaty with the United States, but Kelly said it had nothing to worry about.
"The United States has no intention of invading or attacking the DPRK," he said, using the initials for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Kelly later met with Kim one-on-one, though no details about their discussions were available.
Delegates clasped hands for a photo as they entered China's state guesthouse for the start of the meetings, which were to resume Thursday.
"The recent flurry of diplomacy is good preparation for these talks and helps in understanding," Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi told delegates at a six-sided table.
Kim, North Korea's vice premier, sounded an optimistic note.
"We hope that disagreement between each party can be narrowed as much as possible and the stalemate between North Korea and the United States can be resolved through dialogue," he said.
The compensation demand was a common maneuver for the North, which often announces hard-line positions and sometimes uses threats to pressure negotiating partners into making concessions.
The communist nation proposed in December that it freeze its nuclear activities in return for economic aid and other U.S. concessions. But Washington demanded that Pyongyang start to dismantle its nuclear programs first.
The latest meeting was brokered by Beijing, which is North Korea's last major communist ally and an important economic partner of the United States.