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South Korea, the U.S. and Japan will ask North Korea in the fourth round of six-party talks starting Tuesday for an unambiguous written commitment to dismantling its nuclear program.
A diplomatic source who participated in talks between the three nations said the trio felt the process discussed up to the third round of talks -- a preliminary freeze followed by dismantlement ? was no longer meaningful. He said North Korea must announce a strategic decision to unconditionally dismantle its nuclear program.
The three countries will not be content with vague reference to ¡°denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula¡± or a preliminary freeze, and Washington and Tokyo have threatened to stop the talks and impose sanctions if no written undertaking is forthcoming. A Korean official said Sunday the goal of the six-party talks was ¡°the dismantling of the North Korean nuclear program¡± and the sole aim of the fourth round to confirm this principle in writing.
The question is how the pair would harmonize their threat of economic sanctions with South Korea.
However, South Korea, the U.S. and Japan will give North Korea written security guarantees if it decides to dismantle its nuclear program, Japan¡¯s Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported.
Meanwhile, Deputy Foreign Minister Song Min-soon met with North Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan in Beijing on Sunday. ¡°Both sides agreed that there needs to be substantive progress in this round of talks, preparing a framework to realize the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,¡± Song said afterwards. A South Korean official said North Korea had reiterated it wants the six-party talks turned into mutual nuclear disarmament negotiations.
Meanwhile, U.S. chief negotiator Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, who arrived in Beijing on Sunday, said he hoped for measurable progress but did not expect this round to be the last.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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