ROK-US Stuck in Nuclear Issue

Foreign Ministers of South Korea and the US held a meeting yesterday in Los Cabos, Mexico, where the 10th APEC summit is being held to coordinate their opinions on North Korea`s nuclear issue, only to find a huge gap over the core issues such as the maintenance of the 1994 Geneva Agreed Framework.

With the failure of the ministerial talks, all the eyes are on the result of the three-way talks between heads of South Korea, the US and Japan, which is slated for Oct. 27.

Foreign Minister Choi Sung-hong met yesterday with US State Secretary Colin Powell and called on the US to take a serious approach to the issue so that the basic framework of the 1994 Geneva Agreement could be maintained, mentioning North Korea`s will to solve the issue in a peaceful way.

But Powell emphasized the Geneva Agreement has already been damaged since North Korea mentioned the nullification of the agreement. A high-ranking official, who attended the meeting, said that Powell was serious about the future of the Geneva Agreement.

Choi said that North Korea took the nuclear issue seriously and hoped to solve it through dialogue and asked the US to open the channel for dialogue with North Korea. In response, Powell said that the US was seeking a peaceful way of resolution and did not want a crisis to arise on the Korean peninsula.

But an official said that the US made it clear that North Korea`s demand that the US give up its hostile policy toward the Stalinist country could not be put on the negotiating table.

Meanwhile, Presidents of South Korea and the US and Prime Minister of Japan are expected to adopt a joint statement at the proposed summit talks on Oct. 27. The joint statement will including their commitment to persuading North Korea to give up the nuclear development program, solving the nuke issue in a peaceful manner and closely collaborating for a peaceful resolution of the issue.

The heads of the three states are expected to analyze the intention and background of North Korea to propose a nonaggression treaty with the US and discuss countermeasures to the proposal at the upcoming talks.

But it remains to be seen whether the three countries can successfully work out their differences as the US is expected to maintain its stance that it would launch dialogue with the North after the reclusive country gives up the nuclear program while South Korea is reported to emphasize the importance of keeping the dialogue channel wide open.

ysmo@donga.com