|
A high-ranking U.S. government official on Monday claimed South Korea, the U.S. and Japan agreed to raise the issue of human rights in North Korea during six-party nuclear arms talks that start in Beijing next week.
The official said the agreement came about during three-way talks in Seoul on July 14 and reflected ¡°the thoughts of President Bush,¡± who wants greater weight given to the issue.
There is little support for the claim. Asked Monday whether the U.S. would raise the human rights issue, White House spokesman Scott McClellan was noncommittal. "Well, the talks that will begin next week are focused on North Korea and the nuclear issue," he said. "The President is concerned about the plight of the people in North Korea. That's why we have provided large amounts of food assistance, larger amounts than any other nation, to help those in North Korea who are in need of that assistance."
The White House has mainly stuck with the principle that the talks are about Pyongyang¡¯s nuclear program. But the U.S. Congress is pressuring the administration to raise the issue, passing a resolution on July 11 demanding it make human rights and kidnappings of South Koreans and Japanese people part of the agenda for the upcoming talks. Japan, too, has been calling for abductions of Japanese by North Korea to be put on the official agenda for this round.
But South Korean government officials denied the U.S. said either during the Seoul discussions of the three countries¡¯ chief negotiators or at any other time it would raise the issue. "If the U.S. and North Korea convene bilateral talks, the issue could come up there, but [the human rights issue] will not be dealt with¡± at six-party talks.
The fourth round of the talks is to start on July 26, but no closing date has been decided. The other five parties besides North Korea believe the talks should continue until results are achieved. Like the previous three rounds they will take place at the Diaoyutai State Guest House in Beijing. The South Korean delegation will leave Korea on July 24 for preliminary bilateral contacts with North Korea, the U.S. and Japan on the day before talks are to begin.
Meanwhile, a diplomatic source said the U.S. would put off naming a special envoy for North Korean human rights until after the six-party talks in order to avoid unnecessarily provoking North Korea. Earlier reports claimed the White House would name the envoy to coincide with an international conference on North Korean human rights hosted by Freedom House, a group advocating U.S. leadership in promoting global democracy.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
|
