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The fifth round of the six-party nuclear talks will resume Feb. 8. The announcement was made by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu, who also called the talks a gradual and complex process and urged negotiators to be pragmatic. South Korea welcomed the dialogue¡¯s resumption and is calling for tangible progress.
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Cho Hee-yong said, "We hope that through active and sincere stances maintained by all parties in the upcoming talks, we can reach a detailed and substantive agreement on the 'early steps' and on ways to implement the September 19th Joint Statement of Principles."
The six parties are aiming to agree on and put into writing a give-and-take formula for the early stages of North Korea's nuclear dismantlement. Chief U.S. negotiator Christopher Hill told Reuters News that the envisioned agreement could resemble the defunct 1994 Agreed Framework. South Korean officials side-stepped questions on Hill's comment, saying negotiations must first take place.
Diplomacy also continues to prepare for the upcoming session, with Seoul's top envoy Chun Yung-woo to fly out to Moscow Wednesday. Hill will stop by Seoul and Tokyo this weekend on his way to Beijing.
Meanwhile, the U.S. and North Korea are also holding bilateral talks in the Chinese capital on Pyongyang¡¯s alleged financial misconduct.
U.S. Deputy Assistant Treasury Secretary Daniel Glaser said, "We had the opportunity to provide some questions in advance to our North Korean counterparts and we look forward to going over those questions and we hope for a productive meeting. I'm hopeful that we'll make progress, but I will keep you guys up to date."
North Korea has demanded the unfreezing of US$24 million of its funds in the Macau-based Banco Delta Asia. It's unclear whether the U.S. will partially lift its restrictions on the bank and free up as much as half of North Korea¡¯s funds as reported by several foreign media.
The BDA issue is what has bogged down the nuclear dialogue for over a year, so it remains to be seen if and how this week's financial discussions will affect the course of the nuclear talks.
Arirang News
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