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North Korea said Sunday it expects to hold bilateral talks with the U.S. during a new round of six-party talks it finally agreed to a day earlier. Pyongyang has said the nuclear dispute is between it and Washington, while the U.S. has carefully limited itself to unofficial contacts with the North, saying it sees no need for official bilateral negotiations. Sunday¡¯s North Korean announcement suggests Washington has softened on the point.
If that means bilateral talks will become a regular fixture at the new round of talks, the focus will shift away from a round-table only format of all six nations toward one where the two parties that ultimately hold the key to resolving the dispute spend more time together, away from South Korea, Japan, China and largely silent partner Russia.
Meanwhile, the U.S. and South Korea believe the format of the six-party talks needs other improvements. During the previous three rounds, between 100 and 200 representatives from the six nations gathered in a large meeting hall at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing. Moreover, in one year and 10 months, a grand total of three meetings took place. That, the two countries feel, is not a recipe for substantive results.
Seoul and Washington are reportedly looking at ways to expand the number of meetings and the conference schedule, citing nuclear talks currently underway between the EU and Iran as a useful model. There, plenary meetings attended by the delegation heads convene monthly or bimonthly, but several working-level committees are always talking.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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