U.S. Promises Conditional Economic Support to NK

In the 3-way meeting scheduled for April 24 in Beijing concerning the North Korean nuclear issue, discussion will be focused on permanent dismantling of the North`s nuclear facilities and Korea and Japan`s participation in an envisioned multilateral meeting in the future.

The development of the meeting is drawing attention because the U.S. is set to take measures for a bold approach including a guarantee of economic support for the North Korean regime if the communist country accepts the proposal to scrap their nuclear facilities.

U.S. State Department spokesman Philip Reeker said that there should be discussion on whether North Korea can permanently dismantle its nuclear facilities in a provable manner.

“This is a mere preliminary meeting for a future multilateral meeting,” he said, regarding the exclusion of Korea from the meeting. “We will continue to put pressure on the North to include Korea and Japan in the future.”

“Other items will also be discussed at this meeting and President Bush will impose political and economic measures as announced,” he added.

Seok Dong-yeon, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said on the same day in a statement: “I welcome the 3-way meeting and think that it will serve as an important opportunity for a peaceful resolution of the nuclear issue. The South Korean government is poised to make diplomatic efforts towards its inclusion in the envisioned multilateral meeting.”

“It is certain that South Korea will be allowed to participate in the multilateral meeting even before final agreement is reached over the North Korean issue,” A high-ranking official at the Blue House said. “The North really wants security for its regime, but the U.S. cannot settle that problem alone.”

“We have in place a proper system enabling frequent discussion on very detailed issues with sufficient reflection on our requests,” the presidential aid for foreign affairs said. “The South Korean government played an important role in the resumption of these talks.”

Korea, the U.S. and Japan are expected to hold a meeting on April 18 in Washington. At this meeting, Assistant Secretary of the Korean Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry Lee Su-hyeok, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs James Kelly and Director General of Asian and Oceania Affairs Bureau in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Bureau of Japan Mitoji Yabunaka will discuss the 3-way talks and ways to expand the upcoming talks to include 4 to 6 parties.