Six Way Talks Resume--Once Again

Negociations between North Korea and the U.S., South Korea, China, Russia and Japan-labelled the Six-Way Talks have resumed...once again.


Chosun Ilbo notes that the Six-party talks on North Korea’s nuclear program resumed in Beijing on Wednesday with a bilateral meeting between the main actors after a round-table session.

The fresh round has the uphill task of sorting out the when and how of an accord whereby Pyongyang agreed to give up its nuclear arms program in return for economic assistance and security guarantees.

The meeting mainly went over familiar ground.

The U.S. affirmed that it will only provide North Korea with a civilian light-water reactor it is demanding once Pyongyang restores trust, returns to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and readmits IAEA inspectors.

The North again insisted things must happen the other way round. Its chief negotiator Kim Kye-gwan also slammed U.S. President George W. Bush for again labeling North Korean leader Kim Jong-il a tyrant this week, saying that went against the spirit of the joint statement agreed in the last round.