6 nations to convene 1st working-group meeting on N Korea on Wed
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
Beijing, May 10, Kyodo/OANA/IRNA -- The first working-group meeting of six countries dealing with North Korea`s nuclear ambitions will kick off Wednesday in Beijing with the aim of laying the groundwork for a third round of a plenary session planned by the end of June. Japan`s delegation arrived in Beijing on Monday as Tokyo is also seeking a breakthrough on the issue of North Korea`s abductions of Japanese through possible bilateral talks this week in China separately from the multilateral dialogue channel. At issue in the China-hosted six-nation talks have been a division between the United States and North Korea, key members of the dialogue framework, and how to bridge the gap, which are likely to continue to be the main task during this week`s meeting. The United States is demanding that North Korea scrap its nuclear development program in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner. North Korea had offered to scrap its nuclear programs, but it backpedaled during the second round of the full six-nation talks in February by insisting it would only freeze its programs for nuclear weapons and not those for peaceful use in exchange for compensation measures including energy aid. Japan has sided with the United States which is its closest ally on the international stage, demanding that North Korea abandon all its nuclear programs, a major threat to Tokyo. The other members of the six-party talks are South Korea and Russia. The working-group meeting is being held amid growing expectations of possible progress on the nuclear issues as Pyongyang has recently appeared to seek closer links with the international community. Last month, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il visited China for a summit for the first time in three years. In a subsequent rare move, North Korea relatively quickly allowed open information about a train explosion which occurred in North Pyongan province and killed at least 160 people, and called for foreign aid for the victims. Ning Fukui, Chinese ambassador for North Korean nuclear issues, is expected to chair the working group meeting. The Japanese delegation will be headed by Akitaka Saiki, deputy director general of the Foreign Ministry`s Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau. Joseph DeTrani, US special envoy for negotiations with North Korea, and Ri Gun, deputy director general of the US Affairs Department of the North Korean Foreign Ministry, are also likely to join the talks starting Wednesday. The six nations have yet to say how long the upcoming working-group talks will last amid speculation they might continue for several days. Separately from the multilateral meeting, Mitoji Yabunaka Japan`s top negotiator with North Korea, is believed to be seeking another round of bilateral talks with North Korean officials this week in China in a bid to make progress on the abduction issue. The bilateral talks might be held in Beijing or Dalian, northeastern China, sources familiar with Japan-North Korea ties said earlier. But Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda indicated Monday it is too early to expect much progress on the abduction issue, referring to weekend reports on possible Japan-North Korea talks this week in China. During a press conference, the top Japanese government spokesman said there is a need to `closely watch for a while` if North Korea is really prepared to move toward settlement of the issue. Yabunaka, director general of the ministry`s Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, held two-way talks with North Korean officials last week in Beijing. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi later said they held more in-depth dialogue over how to settle the abduction issue than in previous talks. The issue of Pyongyang`s abductions of Japanese in the late 1970s and early 1980s is a main obstacle to normalizing Japan-North Korea ties and a major matter of public concern in Japan. Saiki is also expected to urge his North Korean counterpart to hold bilateral talks on the sidelines of the working-group session over the kidnapping issue. The six nations agreed to hold the first working-group meeting in a statement they issued after wrapping up the second plenary session in February on a belligerent note due mainly to division between the United States and North Korea. The six nations also agreed in the statement to hold a third round of full talks by the end of June. /AH/210
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