Clinton Trip to North Korea in Doubt as Missile Talks Fizzle

U.S. and North Korean officials ended three days of talks Friday without resolving key issues about the Communist nation’s missile program, diminishing hopes that President Clinton might make a historic trip to the Asian nation this month.

The talks were “constructive and substantive” and increased “areas of common ground,” Robert Einhorn, U.S. assistant secretary of State for nonproliferation, said in a statement from Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian capital and site of the talks. But significant issues “remain to be explored and resolved,” he said.

In Washington, senior U.S. officials said the president may still travel to North Korea before he leaves office. But it appears doubtful that the visit will be added to Clinton’s trip later this month to Brunei and Vietnam, as had been under consideration. A December trip to North Korea now seems more likely.

The talks “achieved their goal,” State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said here.

The United States did not press for a missile agreement in Malaysia, Boucher said. Instead, U.S. officials tried to clarify a proposed arrangement under which North Korea would give up its missile program in exchange for assistance in launching satellites.

Nearly two weeks ago, during a groundbreaking trip to Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright negotiated the framework of a deal with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.

A senior U.S. official involved in the policy initiative said this week’s talks between weapons experts from both countries were consistent with the proposals presented to Albright.

“They mean serious business,” said the official, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the talks. “Nothing was taken off the table. We remain very encouraged.”

Even so, Washington appears to be slowing what had been an almost frantic pace of diplomacy designed to seal the first stage of U.S.-North Korea rapprochement before Clinton leaves office in January.

On Thursday, Albright said the United States is “in no hurry” to finalize an agreement. She said the substance of any accord is far more important than the timing.

“If prospects for further progress develop, we will pursue them,” Albright said in remarks to the National Press Club. “The same thinking applies to the possibility of a meeting between President Clinton and Chairman Kim.”

Her tone contrasted with earlier, more enthusiastic predictions that Clinton would make the trip this month, barring unexpected developments. Now, U.S. officials say it would be difficult to arrange a visit in the limited time remaining before he begins his Asia swing Nov. 12.

With members of Congress and some Asia experts expressing concern that the administration’s apparent haste could lead to miscalculations, U.S. officials have launched a campaign to build support for rapprochement.

In her remarks this week, Albright blasted critics of U.S.-North Korea engagement. “Without dialogue we are stuck with the status quo, and I believe the risks of trying to work with North Korea are less than the ongoing costs of confrontation,” she said.

Albright acknowledged North Korea’s poor record on human rights and the “profound political differences” between Washington and Pyongyang. But she said the administration’s immediate goal in broaching security issues is to open the way for broader discussions later.

“There are, after all, few human rights imperatives more meaningful than preventing war,” she said. “We would be irresponsible if we didn’t take advantage of a historic opportunity to move beyond 50 years of Cold War division and reduce the danger of North Korean missiles.”

The rapid pace of diplomacy was initiated by South Korea last summer and accelerated in recent months by North Korea, where by some estimates as many as 2 million people have died from famine resulting from economic decline and natural disasters in recent years.

Both the Clinton team and the Kim regime are interested in concluding a deal before the transition to a new presidential administration in Washington.