Tripartite Talks on DPRK Nuclear Issue Attracts Attention

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, April 23, 2003

Tripartite Talks on DPRK Nuclear Issue Attracts Attention

US State Department announced on April 21 that tripartite (the US, the DPRK and China) talks on solving the DPRK nuclear issue are scheduled to be held in Beijing on April 23. The tripartite talks will be the first face-to-face talk between Washington and Pyongyang since the Korean Peninsular nuclear issue broken out again in October last year.

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US State Department spokesperson Richard Boucher announced on April 21 that tripartite (the United States, the DPRK and China) talks on solving the DPRK nuclear issue are scheduled to be held in Beijing on April 23. Head of the US delegation to participate in the tripartite talks is James A. Kelly, assistant secretary of State in charge of Asia-Pacific affairs, he led a five-member delegation that day to go to Beijing.

The tripartite talks have aroused extensive attention from the international community. This will be the first face-to-face talk between Washington and Pyongyang since the Korean Peninsular nuclear issue broken out again in October last year. Prior to this, the DPRK had called for bilateral negotiation with the United States, while Washington had all along demanded for multilateral talks. With regard to the scope of multilateral talks, there are such formulas as "six-party talks" and "10-party talks". The "six-party talks" refer to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the United States, the Republic of Korea (ROK), China, Japan and Russia. Japan, the ROK and Russia are in favor of this formula. The "10-party talks" was put forward by the United States: the five permanent member states of the UN Security Council plus the ROK, the DPRK, Japan, Australia and European Union (EU). The DPRK is resolutely opposed to such a multilateral talk formula. US media reports say: under China's mediation, the DPRK and the United States have finally agreed to the "tripartite talks" to be held in Beijing.

On April 18, ranking officials of the United States, Japan and the ROK held consultations in Washington to coordinate their stands regarding the tripartite talks to be held in Beijing. Richard Boucher said that the Washington consultations this time were part of the process of the close consultations among the three countries, participating in the consultations on the US side was Kelly; on the Japanese and ROK sides were bureau directors in charge of Asia-Pacific affairs in the foreign ministries of Japan and the ROK, as well as Japanese and ROK ambassadors to the United States.

It is revealed by the New York Times that the US side hopes, through the present negotiation, to explore ways for getting rid of the DPRK nuclear projects, however, the United States only cherishes a low expectation of the first round of talks. A ranking official of the White House said that President George W. Bush had instructed the negotiation delegation that the United States could not accept the result of freezing the nuclear projects of the DPRK again, but instead it would insist on calling for relieving Korea of its two major nuclear weapon projects and destroying its nuclear facilities. In meeting with Colin Powell on April 15, Bush approved the overall plan for negotiation tactics. Bush also told Powell that before the elimination of the DPRK nuclear threat, he would not discuss the signing of any form of treaty with the DPRK.

The US Christian Science Monitor reported on April 17 that China had recently fulfilled a major diplomatic matter: It had successfully helped to bring about the tripartite negotiations, this has astonished Asia.

In its April 17 report, Washington Post pointed out that the Bush administration had decided to negotiate with the DPRK representatives in Beijing, this is a "major concession" made by the Bush administration from its stance of insisting on talks with the DPRK together with Japan, the ROK and China. A senior White House official said this was a response made by the US government to China that has gradually played an important cooperative part in handling the Korean crisis. Although the present talks promoted by China as the host country meet the Bush administration's demand for multilateral talks with the DPRK, Pyongyang's nuclear plan will not be touched upon before the follow-up talks with the DPRK to be held with the participation of the ROK and Japan or Russia.

With the Iraq War drawing to an end, the United States has put the solution of the Korea issue on the agenda. When inspecting a military base in Texas on April 20, Bush indicated that the diplomatic endeavors exerted by the international community have provided a "very good opportunity for persuading Korea to give up its nuclear weapon plan". Bush particularly praised China for its efforts made in ensuring that the Korean Peninsula should be nuclear free. Some commentaries maintain that although the level of the present talks is not very high, it is a good beginning for the two sides to sit down at the negotiating table for dialogs.

By People's Daily Online

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