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The second day of six-party talks on North Korea¡¯s nuclear program on Wednesday ended a brief honeymoon, with both the United States and North Korea slapping fresh demands on the negotiating table in a round of keynote addresses that otherwise largely restated existing positions. In potential stepping stones for substantive progress at the talks, the U.S. brought up Pyongyang¡¯s human rights record while the North wanted the Korean Peninsula declared a nuclear-free zone.
North Korean chief negotiator Kim Kye-gwan in his address said the North "would pledge to verifiably dismantle its nuclear weapons program, including its nuclear weapons, following the normalization of the relationship between North Korea and the United States and the removal of the nuclear threat as trust is built." In other words, it wants diplomatic relations before scrapping its nuclear program. Moreover, the U.S. ¡°must pledge to abandon its polices to overthrow the North Korean government and build legal and structural mechanisms for peaceful coexistence," Kim said, including withdrawing its nuclear weapons from South Korea and its nuclear arms shield from the region. The North also demanded compensation for any economic damages resulting from denuclearization.
U.S. chief negotiator Christopher Hill said North Korea must dismantle all its existing nuclear weapons and nuclear programs accompanied by effective verification before ties between the two countries can be normalized. He also flagged an intent to bring Pyongyang¡¯s human rights record into the six-party talks, saying ¡°bilateral and multilateral issues¡± such as missiles and human rights needed to be dealt with.
But Hill conceded to North Korean sensitivities by referring to the Stalinist country¡¯s leader by the title ¡°chairman,¡± the honorific North Korea uses for Kim Jong-il in its own English-language publications. The U.S. has recently stooped to calling Kim ¡°Mr.,¡± which Pyongyang appears to interpret as a kind of honorific and which in any case marks an improvement since U.S President George W. Bush described Kim as a "pygmy" in May 2002.
South Korean chief negotiator Song Min-soon attempted to focus on the core issue. ¡°We need to concentrate all efforts to resolve the North Korean nuclear dispute,¡± he said. ¡°North Korea must pledge to dismantle its nuclear program and other nations must promise to normalize their relationship with North Korea and provide security guarantees and economic aid." He also recalled a recent ¡°important proposal¡± believed to have helped bring North Korea back to the negotiating table, saying, ¡°As long as North Korea keeps its promise to dismantle its nuclear program, South Korea will continue to provide regular electricity to the North."
A high-ranking South Korean official said there were ¡°differences between the solutions conceived by South Korea and the United States... During this round of talks, we will give up on seeking a joint offer between South Korea, the U.S. and Japan and propose an independent solution of our own."
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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