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NK Picks African Specialist as Chief Delegate

2003-08-25

North Korea has named Vice Foreign Minister Kim Yong-il as its chief delegate to the six-way nuclear talks to be held in Beijing, beginning Wednesday.

Kim, an Africa specialist, started handling Chinese issues a few months ago. The surprise designation is widely viewed as the North's emphasis on cooperation with China, its biggest ally, during the multilateral talks.

Kim served as counterpart to China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his visit to Pyongyang early this month. Kim, together with the North's Chief Vice Foreign Minister Kang Sok-ju, reached an agreement on the date of the six-nation meeting with Wang for late this month.

Kim has filled various government posts including counselor at the North's embassy in Algeria, director general at the foreign ministry, vice minister for African affairs and advisor to the diplomacy subcommittee under the Supreme People's Assembly, and ambassador to Libya. He has been vice foreign minister since 2000.

According to diplomatic sources, he is meticulous in his work, fluent in French and has good English skills. He is also a son-in-law to Jon Mun-sop, a colleague of the late Kim Il-sung during Kim's partisan days.

Meanwhile, the three-day multilateral talks in Beijing will likely follow the precedent of the four-way negotiations between 1997 and 1999.

During the negotiations, the participating nations are expected to sit at a hexagonal table to avoid any unnecessary friction over seating positions.

China's chief delegate, possibly vice foreign minister Wang Yi, will sit flanked by his North Korean counterpart, with Japan, South Korea, Russia and the United States following in clockwise order.

Translation will be provided in all five languages.

The South Korean delegation is expected to arrive at Beijing on Monday with the other parties arriving in the Chinese capital on the same day or the next.

Tuesday will see a flurry of closed-door negotiations with a number of preparatory consultations scheduled in bilateral or trilateral formats.

However, the key North Korea-U.S. meetings are unlikely on Tuesday, as a confrontation could outshine the six-way meeting the next day. Experts believe bilateral meetings will be held on Wednesday or Thursday.

Foreign Minister Yoon Young-kwan on Wednesday confirmed the North Korea-U.S. talks. "Pyongyang has demanded face-to-face talks with the U.S. and the U.S. accepted. I expect there will be a bilateral meeting of some format," he said.

During the Asian Regional Forum last year, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell held a 15-minute meeting with North Korean Foreign Minister Paek Nam-sun at a hotel lobby. Inter-Korean discussion is expected after the North Korea-U.S. consultation.

Trilateral meetings between South Korea, the U.S. and Japan will likely take place twice before and after the six-way meeting, each to prepare and fine-tune differences before drawing up a joint statement.

On the first day, the six nations are expected to deliver their keynote speeches and sound out the other positions. Negotiations will be in full swing the next morning. On the final day, discussions will continue to draw up statements. The participants will also discuss the schedule for the next round.

Source : www.korea.net