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Six-party talks in Beijing aimed at ending North Korea¡¯s nuclear programs went into recess on Friday without so much as a date for their resumption agreed. However, an official close to the South Korean delegation said, "Everything considered, it looks like a resumption this year will be difficult.¡± The fresh round only lasted three days and was largely taken up with a rehash of old arguments.
Wu Dawei, China's chief delegate to the talks, in a chairman¡¯s statement said the six countries involved ¡°will take steps to realize a verifiable denuclearized Korean Peninsula within a short time and move on to contribute to the establishment of permanent peace and stability in Northeast Asia.¡± The remarks show how little progress has been made since a statement of principles adopted in the last round of talks in September.
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The chief negotiators at six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program. Clockwise from top left, South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Song Min-soon, North Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Alexeyev, Japanese Director-General for Asia and Oceania Sasae Kenichiro, and Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei.
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North Korea reportedly continued stalling on the last day with more complaints about U.S. sanctions against North Korean firms for allegedly funneling Pyongyang¡¯s ill-gotten gains from counterfeiting and drug smuggling. After earlier protesting that the matter was not on the agenda, Washington¡¯s delegation head Christopher Hill said North Korea¡¯s financial transactions required close monitoring since the country had been developing nuclear weapons and had withdrawn from the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty.
South Korean chief negotiator Song Min-soon was nonetheless cautiously optimistic. ¡°It is difficult to expect a resolution of the issue within a couple of months, but it looks as though a way of bringing harmony to the talks will be found,¡± he said.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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