Hard talk on day one of the 6-parties: Wide defferences remain

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Source: CCTV.com | 12-19-2006 08:37

The Six-Party nuclear talks began again in the capital on Monday. But the day ended with no one-on-one meeting between the US and the DPRK. As Han Bin reports, wide differences remain and there are serious obstacles to resolving the crisis.

The talks begin again after a 13-month break. Hill will meet the DPRK's Kim Kye-Gwan, and he's demanding that Pyongyang give up its nuclear weapons. Host China is seeking a compromise.

Wu Dawei, China's vice Foreign Minister, said: "This meeting is to try to find an approach to implement the agreements reached at the previous session."

The meeting was another round of hard talks, with endless bargaining. But the one-on-one meeting expected between the DPRK and the United States has not yet taken place, and there has been little sign of concessions from both sides. The only progress is that talks have reopened.

Returning to his hotel after the opening session, Christopher Hill warned that Washington's patience had reached its limits.

As US Assistant Secretary of State, Hill said, "We can go either road. We would like denuclearization by a diplomatic negotiation, but if they don't want that we are quite prepared to go the other road, which as I mentioned yesterday, is a pretty tough road."

The DPRK blames Washington for the stalemate, and insists that the US must lift financial sanctions before it will consider disarmament.

Kim Kye-Gwan, DPRK nuclear envoy said, "The reason why there is friction between North Korea and the US is not because we made nuclear weapons, but because of the US policy."

China hopes to bring both sides back to the only statement ever issued so far. According to that statement, the DPRK said it would abandon its nuclear weapons program, in exchange for security and aid.

As Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said, "It's not easy to resume the talks after one year stalemate, we hope all sides take flexible and practical attitude so as to make some positive outcome."

A number of bilateral meetings were held on this first day of talks. And the symbolic hand shakes a day earlier gave some hope that progress might be possible. But no one is really satisfied so far.

Japan's Chief negotiator, Kenichiro Sasae said the DPRK's position is far apart from the rest of the countries.

The ROK negotiator Chun Yung-Woo urged the DPRK to take substantial initiatives during the talks.

Based on keynote speeches from the six parties on the first day, it's clear neither the US nor the DPRK has made concessions. And further negotiations could be difficult. For now, it's hard to predict whether they will return to the commitments signed just over a year ago.

Editor:Du Xiaodan