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6-Party Nuke Talks Set For Dec. 17: Report

2003-11-24

TOKYO - Five nations have agreed to open the next round of six-nation talks for resolving North Korea's nuclear ambitions on Dec. 17 in Beijing, but will not provide the North with a written security assurance at the talks, a Japanese paper reported Sunday.

Quoting unspecified diplomatic sources, the Asahi Shimbun said the five nations -- South Korea, the United States, Japan, China and Russia -- are working on a press statement or announcement that expresses their readiness to give a security guarantee in writing to the North, and confirms the North's willingness to dismantle its nuclear weapons program.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs James Kelly reportedly briefed leaders of South Korea, China and Japan on the U.S. stance that Washington will not give such a guarantee to Pyongyang unless the North takes detailed steps to dismantle its nuclear weapons system.

Kelly, the U.S. point man on North Korean affairs, has wrapped up a trip to the three nations to hold consultations ahead of the planned nuclear talks.

The postponement of giving a written security assurance to the North also reflects the situation that Washington has yet to come up with an in-house agreement on the issue.

Kelly is scheduled to meet with Russian Vice Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov Monday in Washington before reporting on his consultations with the four countries to U.S. Secretary of States Colin Powell.

Powell is expected to urge U.S. President George W. Bush to make a decision on whether to accept the proposed press statement or announcement, Asahi said.

The first six-party talks, involving the two Koreas, the United States, Russia, China and Japan, were held in August in Beijing, and the participants failed to produce a clear breakthrough.

At issue is a North Korean demand for security guarantees that it will not come under U.S. attack in return for scrapping its suspected nuclear weapons program.

In October, Bush expressed his readiness to provide a written security assurance to North Korea through the six-party framework if Pyongyang dismantles its nuclear weapons program.

Source : www.korea.net