N.K. comes closer to 6-party talks

North Korea yesterday said it attained "a series of common recognition" with the United States on the need to resume the six-nation talks and reaffirm the principles of a previous denuclearization agreement when Washington`s special envoy Stephen Bosworth visited this week.

An unidentified official of the North`s foreign ministry was quoted for these and other remarks regarding Bosworth`s trip during an interview with the state-run Korean Central News Agency.

The official also reportedly said the two sides held "frank and sincere" discussions on a wide range of issues including the possibility of achieving a peace treaty to formally end the 1950-53 Korean War, normalization of relations and peninsular denuclearization.

The United States and North Korea will continue to cooperate, the official added, to narrow down "remaining differences."



The comments were almost identical to those made by special representative Bosworth, who upon the return of his visit on Thursday, said the two sides shared "some understandings" for reviving the multilateral dialogue aimed at ending Pyongyang`s nuclear weapons programs and recommitting to the crucial joint communique signed in September of 2005. This agreement serves as a guiding post for the North`s denuclearization process.

But the two sides were unable to reach an agreement on the timetable for a fresh round of six-party discussions.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton yesterday called the outcome of Bosworth`s trip "quite positive."

State Department Philip Crowley hinted at the possibility of followup meetings, saying Washington will have to see if it would take phone calls or another meeting with the North Koreans for them to return to the nuclear negotiations.

Bosworth on Thursday had said he had not discussed the possibility of additional discussions.

Seoul`s response to the envoy`s trip was a mixed bag, with officials appearing to remain circumspect but with a touch of optimism.

"I agree with special representative Bosworth that the meeting with the North Koreans were useful, but we will have to see where this further takes us on the road to denuclearization," said Wi Sung-lac, Seoul`s chief nuclear negotiator.

This would not be the first time that talks over Pyongyang`s denuclearization process collapsed. The previous round of six-party talks fell through after Washington and Pyongyang failed to reach an agreement on a nuclear verification protocol.

Seoul and Washington, along with the other members of the six-party negotiations have since then adopted a two-track approach for applying both the carrot and the stick to North Korea.

Bosworth indicated via his trip that the United States was prepared to hold North Korea`s hand as it makes it way back into international society in return for a complete and irreversible end to its nuclear ambitions.

The latest trip between Dec. 8-10 came after Pyongyang extended an invitation after months of brinkmanship tactics that included a rocket launch and a second nuclear test.

The North quit the multilateral nuclear discussions after the United Nations Security Council denounced the rocket launch in April.

Speculation has it that Pyongyang demanded incentives such as a peace treaty. Washington said the issue could be discussed once the nuclear dialogue starts anew, since the Sept.19 agreement calls for related parties to try and achieve a peace regime on the Korean peninsula.

But such discussions are not to be conducted within the six-party framework, and also may start only after the denuclearization process is initiated, according to the same communique.

Further details about Bosworth`s meeting with the North Koreans are expected to be available after the former ambassador completes his tour to the other partners of the six-nation talks and returns to Washington next week, Foreign Ministry officials here said.

(jemmie@heraldm.com)





By Kim Ji-hyun