Six-party talk resumes in Beijing over North Korea nuke

The six-party talk on North Korea’s nuclear-weapons program, resumed in Beijing. North Korea and U.S. are putting fresh demands at the table. It was also attended by South Korea, Japan, China and Russia.

Parties are meeting for the third day to persuade North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons program in return for food and economic aid, and security guarantees.

U.S. negotiators will draft principles today that may lead to an accord with North Korea over the destruction of the communist state’s nuclear weapons.

U.S. and North Korean delegates will hold a bilateral meeting today, a senior U.S. official said last night. The representatives of the six nations are scheduled to meet this morning to discuss what was said yesterday in a full plenary session when each side read out a statement.

They will also be invited to a luncheon hosted by China’s National People’s Congress Chairman Wu Bangguo, according to a South Korean official who declined to be identified.

The United States put forward an offer on the first day of the third round of the six-party talks, which called for an interim period of three months to prepare for the dismantling and removal of North Korea’s nuclear weapons as well as a full listing of its nuclear activities.

In exchange, the United States was prepared to look favorably on North Korea’s energy needs, including energy supplies by third countries, lifting of sanctions as well as the DPRK’s listing as a terrorist state, and most importantly, U.S. promises of a “provisional security assurances that become more enduring” once the dismantling process gathered pace.

North Korea proposed as a first step its pledge to dismantle verifiably if the relationships with the United States were normalized. The United States would then have to forgo its policy to overthrow North Korea’s regime and build up legal and systematic tools for peaceful coexistence. The third step would include fulfilling obligations to implement trust, removing nuclear weapons and threats in South Korea, and providing compensation for denuclearization.

There has been a more positive atmosphere at these talks than during the three previous rounds. U.S. says it is trying to narrow the differences with North Korea, despite fundamental disagreements.

North Korea wants diplomatic relations with the US and a peace agreement in addition to the security guarantees and economic help already offered. It is also demanding the removal of the American nuclear threat to the region.

But U.S. says it is not prepared to discuss issues that relate to its alliances with other countries. The U.S. yesterday rejected North Korea’s demand for an end to its nuclear defense of South Korea.

South Korean officials said it was too early to tell whether the prospects for the talks were bright or not. But participants say there is a more cordial mood than the previous meetings.

For the past several years, the United States has been trying to persuade North Korea to eliminate its nuclear-weapons capabilities. That effort has been conducted through the negotiating forum known as the six-party talks that bring together the United States, China, Russia, Japan, South Korea, and North Korea.