The first day of the third round of six-party talks on Korean
nuclear issue saw detailed proposals put forward respectively by
the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the United States
and the Republic of Korea (ROK). Parties said the time has come
that the talks make progress on substantial questions. The talks,
involving China, the DPRK, the United States, the ROK, Russia and
Japan, opened in Beijing Wednesday afternoon.
A senior official with the US delegation revealed after the
talks in the evening that the US delegation made a seven-page
proposal to end the disputes.
It's the first formal proposal that the United States has made
towards solving the nuclear issue, and "We did think it is now a
good time to offer the proposal," said the official, noting that
it's time to completely solve the issue.
According to the seven-page US new proposal, the DPRK would be
given a three-month preparatory period for dismantlement and
removal of nuclear facilities, and the DPRK would be also asked to
offer the US side a listing of nuclear activities at various time.
The proposal also set ways to solve the security concerns of the
DPRK, said the US official, adding that under the proposal, issues
like lifting sanctions over the DPRK and dealing with its energy
needs would be covered.
The official said the proposal is a "complex" one, because it is
a large program that involves a lot of things with the DPRK and
other parties.
It is said that the DPRK delegation has acquired a text of the
US proposal for further discussion.
"We do hope the DPRK to seriously look at what we have in mind,
and we don't want them to response us right now," said the US
official, noting that the US side is patient and determined to
solve the problem.
Lee Soo-hyuck, head of the ROK delegation to the talks, said
Wednesday evening that the abandonment of nuclear programs should
meet two conditions: firstly, the DPRK should, under international
supervision, completely abolish all the nuclear programs, including
the uranium enrichment program; secondly, he said, as the first
step of abandoning the nuclear programs, the DPRK should freeze all
its nuclear programs by fixed time, seal up relevant materials and
freeze relevant facilities under international supervision.
Lee said if the DPRK froze the nuclear programs, the ROK would
propose the following three measures in return:
First, the ROK will provide the DPRK with heavy fuel oil.
Second, the United States would provide a guarantee in written form
on ensuring the DPRK's security, including removing hostility
against the DPRK and making a non-aggression promise. And thirdly,
the United States would hold consultations with the DPRK on
removing it from the list of countries supporting terrorism and
slowing down sanctions toward the DPRK.
Lee said the ROK hoped all parties could coordinate with each
other and reach an understanding to create an environment for
resolving the nuclear issue.
The DPRK's detailed scheme has not been revealed by press
time.
Zhang Qiyue, member of the Chinese delegation, said the schemes
of the DPRK, ROK and the United States are all very substantive,
indicating that the sides are actively seeking solutions.
Addressing the opening ceremony Wednesday afternoon, Kim
Kye-gwan, head of the DPRK delegation, said the DPRK hopes this
round of talks will become a turning point in breaking the impasse
of the nuclear dispute with the United States.
US delegation head James Kelly said that the common goal of the
talks is to realize a nuclear weapon-free peninsula, which will
help to ensure peace and safety in the peninsula and the region at
large. That will also help to promote relations between the DPRK
and the United States and the international community.
Also at the opening ceremony, Chinese delegation head Wang Yi
said the six-party talks have entered the stage of substantial
discussion on specific topics, and this round of talks will discuss
in depth two substantial topics.
According to him, one topic is how to realize a nuclear
weapon-free Korean Peninsula, including ways to abandon nuclear
programs and solve the concerns of all parties, and the other is
how to make the first step towards the nuclear weapon-free goal,
including freezing of nuclear facilities and relevant steps taken
by other parties.
"In this round of talks, the parties have all exercised certain
flexibility, and showed willingness to explore substantive
questions," said Wang Yizhou, a researcher on international
relations from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. He expected
reasonable progress to be achieved in this round of talks.
(Xinhua News Agency June 24, 2004)