Chinese FM, US Secretary of State Talk over Phone

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, April 24, 2003

Chinese FM, US Secretary of State Talk over Phone

Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing held a telephone conversation with the United States' Secretary of State Colin Powell Wednesday night, according to sources with the Foreign Ministry.

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Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing held a telephone conversation with the United States' Secretary of State Colin Powell Wednesday night, according to sources with the Foreign Ministry.

The two sides exchanged views on how to properly handle the nuclear issue of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and both believed that the ongoing talks in Beijing was beneficial, the sources said.

The talks between US and DPRK envoys and their Chinese hosts are in their second day now. The talks are closed to the media and none of the three parties involved is prepared at this stage to give any details. But analysts do not expect a big breakthrough from the meeting. Instead, they see it as a start for future talks.

US Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly left his hotel early Wednesday for talks with his DPRK counterpart. Representing the DPRK is Li Gun, the Foreign Ministry's deputy director general of US Affairs. Chinese Foreign Ministry delegate Fu Ying was also present.

The meeting marks the first three-way talks between China, the DPRK and the US since the 1953 armistice on the Korean Peninsula. These are also the first face-to-face US-DPRK discussions in half a year.

The main focus of the meetings is the nuclear impasse between Pyongyang and Washington. But they are also expected to touch on a number of other issues relating to general affairs.

Han Zhenshe, Korean affairs analyst, said: "To start off these three-way talks, the three parties will first discuss what they want to talk about and how to proceed with the agreed topics. Concerns of other countries such as South Korea, Russia and Japan also need to be addressed because the issues being discussed also affect them."

Analysts agree the meeting will lay the ground for future meetings which will possibly develop into a multilateral format, involving all parties concerned with Korean Peninsula issues.

But how well the ground will be laid largely depends on how much goodwill the US and the DPRK bring to the table.

"The outcome of the talks will depend on the sincerity of the US and the DPRK. If the two sides are not sincere, do not compromise or offer concessions, no negotiations will be productive," added Han Zhenshe.

Analysts say both Washington and Pyongyang have good reason to make concessions. Washington needs to set an example for resolving weapons of mass destruction issues through peaceful means following the Iraq war. And Pyongyang is in dire need of an economic injection.

Analysts agree that the meeting is unlikely to result in anything big, given the long-standing mistrust between the DPRK and the US about each other's will to keep commitments. But the fact that the talks are taking place as planned is important in itself because whether they turn out good or bad, they mark an effort by both the US and the DPRK towards resolving their stand-off through diplomatic means.

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