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North Korea has abruptly postponed the next round of six-nation talks slated to discuss the timetable for disabling its nuclear program in Beijing starting Wednesday. Host country China on Monday notified the South Korean government that the talks cannot start as scheduled, adding it will consult with the participating nations on a new date.
A South Korean government official said it was ¡°impossible to predict when the talks will be held in the current circumstances. But the next round should wind up before the inter-Korean summit¡± slated for Oct. 2-4. That means they hope it will happen between this weekend and the end of next week given that Chuseok, Korea¡¯s biggest holiday, starts on Sept. 24. But it is unclear whether the talks can be held at all this month.
North Korea¡¯s reasons are unknown. Some experts believe the North made the request due to a delay in the delivery of 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil China had promised by the end of August but failed to ship due to recent floods that hit North Korea. They say the North may regard this as a breach of promise.
Others say it could be an expression of protest against an attempt by Japan, reported in the Japanese press, to extend economic sanctions against North Korea for another six months. Song Il-ho, ambassador at large at the North Korean Foreign Ministry for negotiations on normalizing Pyongyang-Tokyo relations, said Japan's move ¡°will have irrevocable consequences¡± for North Korean-Japanese relations.
Still others speculate that the North is annoyed at recent U.S. media reports that it is suspected of having transferred nuclear materials or equipment to Syria. But a South Korean government official dismissed this possibility. Foreign Minister Song Min-soon said, "At present, nobody is talking with positive evidence about the suspicions regarding North Korea and Syria."
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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