ROK bullish on resumption of stalled six-party talks
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The Republic of Korea (ROK) has expressed optimism over the resumption of the Six-Party Talks as early as in "March or April", following similar expectations raised days earlier by the US on negotiations with Pyongyang.
"We believe the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) will come back to the Six-Party Talks sooner or later, possibly in March or April, although we cannot predict the exact timing," an unnamed senior ROK official told reporters in Washington over the weekend.
"Our judgment is based on circumstantial evidence surrounding recent contacts between the DPRK and China," Seoul's Yonghap News Agency quoted him as saying.
The official was referring to three high-profile meetings between senior officials of Beijing and Pyongyang in February.
"That is a very encouraging signal," said Liu Jiangyong, a senior expert on East Asian studies with the Beijing-based Tsinghua University, responding to the ROK official's comments.
"If the talks can resume, as he predicted, in March, or even later, before July this year, it will be very good for all relevant parties," Liu said.
He also warned of the dangers of continued bargaining, which could ruin expectations.
Pyongyang has insisted on two conditions for returning to the talks - lifting UN sanctions and holding peace talks aimed at formally ending the 1950-53 Korean War.
The US, ROK and Japan however have said Pyongyang must first return to the talks and show notable progress before its conditions can be met.
The ROK has not been the only side voicing optimism over the stalled talks.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told reporters on Feb 26 that the US was encouraged by recent positive signals. Her spokesman, Philip J Crowley, said later that the talks could begin "in the coming weeks or months".
The United States' special envoy to the DPRK, Stephen Bosworth said on Feb 27 that all the member states except the DPRK "are prepared to move very quickly", hinting that there were no divergences among the other five members, including Russia.
ROK President Lee Myung-bak said on Monday in a nationally televised address that he wants to achieve "genuine" reconciliation with Pyongyang through dialogue.
He also renewed his offer of a package of incentives in exchange for irreversible dismantling of Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program in a single step, rather than the step-by-step process pursued in the past.
Jin Canrong, deputy dean of the School of International Studies at the Beijing-based Renmin University of China, said that despite these positive comments, the resumption of talks was just "Seoul's expectation".
"I don't think the comments are an affirmative conclusion. So far, we have observed no signs of the DPRK, or the US, ROK and Japan, compromising on their stances (in order for talks to resume)," he said.
