Upcoming 6-party talks will be more complicated than previous

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Source: CCTV.com | 12-13-2006 08:37

China's Foreign Ministry has again confirmed that six-party talks, which have stalled for more than a year, will resume next week.

Through efforts from all six nations, negotiators from China, the US, the DPRK, South Korea, Russia, and Japan will again sit at the table to continue the talks aimed at realizing a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula.

Qin Gang, spokesman Chinese Foreign Ministry, said, "After consultations between all the parties concerned, the second session of the fifth round of the six-party talks will be held on the 18th of December in Beijing. The talks include multi-lateral meetings and bilateral consultations. The participants will exchange their views and hold discussions on how to comprehensively implement the joint statement released last September, and realize the de-nuclearization of the Korean Peninsula."

During the previous session of the talks, though it was only a short round, delegates touched on the real and hard issues of disarmament and verification, security guarantees, as well as economic aid.

China issued a chairman's statement with all parties agreeing to hold the second-phase meeting at the earliest possible date.

Now the date has been set, but the stakes have changed.

In October, the DPRK carried out nuclear tests, declaring it is now a state that possesses nuclear weapons. After that, the United Nations passed resolution 1718 condemning the tests and requiring the DPRK to abandon its nuclear plan and return to talks without condition.

But on the other hand, US President George W. Bush's failures in Iraq and mid-term elections are also challenging America's patience to see what progress the lame-duck President will make in resolving the Korean issue.

These changes have made the talks more difficult. But China says as long as the six parties show their sincerity and make joint efforts, the result should be successful.

Qin Gang said, "To determine if this round of talks is successful, we should see if it is moving towards the de-nuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and if it is moving towards peace and stability in the Northeast Asia."

The Foreign Ministry has left the talks open without any specific ending date, in the hope the meeting will end with substantial progress being made.

Resuming the six-party talks is a progress in resolving the crisis. It again demonstrates that no one wants to resort to non-peaceful resolutions. But since the DPRK is now declaring it a nuclear possessor, the problem of abandoning nuclear first? or providing aid first?' will make the negotiation even more harder.

Editor:Du Xiaodan