04 May 2004
Six-Party Format Could Be Used for Korea Peace Treaty
Kelly says priority is resolution of North Korean nuclear issue
The United States might consider a peace treaty with North Korea, but only after resolution of the nuclear issue through the Six-Party Talks, the State Department said May 3 in response to a question taken at its regular briefing the same day.
According to the State Department, Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly suggested at the second round of Six-Party Talks in Beijing in February that, "after resolution of the nuclear issue, the six parties might be able to work together to seek to replace the armistice agreement on the Korean peninsula with a permanent peace mechanism."
The participants in the Six-Party Talks are North Korea, South Korea, China, Russia, Japan, and the United States.
Following are the State Department texts of the taken question and answer:
(begin text)
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
May 3, 2004
QUESTION TAKEN AT THE MAY 3, 2004 PRESS BRIEFING
NORTH KOREA - KELLY REMARKS
Question: Did Assistant Secretary Kelly offer a peace treaty to the North Koreans if they abandoned their nuclear program at the last round of Six Party Talks?
Answer: In testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee March 2, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs James Kelly commented that the numerous and intensive security dialogues of Europe do not exist in Asia, and he further noted the possibility that the Six-Party Talks might, after resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue, be used to discuss broader issues of peace and security in Northeast Asia.
It was in the framework of this possibility that, in February, at the second round of Six-Party talks in Beijing, Assistant Secretary Kelly expressed our hope that the resolution of the nuclear issue would lay the basis for even further progress toward lasting peace and prosperity in Northeast Asia. In that regard, he suggested that, after resolution of the nuclear issue, the six parties might be able to work together to seek to replace the armistice agreement on the Korean Peninsula with a permanent peace mechanism.
(end text)
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
This page printed from: http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2004&m=May&x=20040504132947BPuH0.7111322&t=livefeeds/wf-latest.html
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