NK No longer Interested in Useless Six-way Talks

North Korea`s foreign ministry spokesperson said last Saturday; “The six-way talks have reassured that the North has no choice but to possess nuclear weapons as deterrent forces to protect our national security.”

“We have no interest in and expectation for such a useless dialogue any longer,” the North Korean official stressed after his press conference with the North Korean Central News Agency on the same day.

He continued to say, “The North cannot accept US demands presented during the talks.” The U.S. has demanded that, along with the North`s abandonment of its nuclear program, issues like missiles, conventional weapons, and human rights should be tackled at the same time.

In response, a South Korean government official played down the North`s remark Sunday by saying, “The North Korean spokesperson only repeated what the North`s chief negotiator had said at the closing session of the six-way dialogue. It didn`t raise any objection when participating nations issued a six-point statement on a follow-up meeting, summing up the talks.”

Yoon Young-kwan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said on that day, “We expect a second round of talks to convene within two or three months, but the date and place of another meeting haven`t been fixed yet. As the U.S. and the North had showed their willingness to offer concessions during the talks, I came to be optimistic about a follow-up meeting.”

“The Beijing dialogue produced some positive outcomes in that Pyongyang had expressed its willingness to create a nuclear-free Korean Peninsular, although having attached prerequisites and in that Washington had also agreed on the need of easing the North`s security concerns,” the minister told KBS.

However, he added, “Taking too optimistic views on a second round of talks is premature because there are rocky roads ahead before the nuclear issue is fully resolved. One thing the North should bear in mind is that it should avoid taking any moves like continuing its weapons development while talks are underway, because these will weaken participating countries trust in the communist country, leading to its further diplomatic isolation.”

Foreign Minister Yoon is expected to visit the US, beginning from September 2 to 7. During his visit, he will meet with US Secretary of State Collin Powell and other US government officials and politicians including National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice to disuse bilateral cooperation strategies for a follow-up meeting on the nuclear issue.

The government is expected to fine-tune strategies for a second round of nuclear talks with the US and Japan through convening a meeting of the Trilateral Cooperation and Oversight Group (TCOG) as soon as possible.

Young-Sik Kim Seung-Ryun Kim spear@donga.com srkim@donga.com