U.S., N. Korea Meet One-on-One Again

The United States and North Korea met one-on-one Tuesday for the second time in two days amid six-party talks aimed at ending Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program.

The bilateral discussions were a major departure from previous rounds, when the U.S. emphasized the “six” in the six-party format. North Korea, on the other hand, had long pressed for direct contacts with the U.S.

All sides see the current one-on-one sessions as a positive step by the Americans to show more flexibility in an overall atmosphere participants described as more conciliatory.

“I also noticed the frequency and intensity of bilateral consultations,” said Qin Gang, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry. “Indeed, many detailed issues shall be discussed and resolved through bilateral consultations. This is a solid foundation for us to usher our talks into a stage of more in-depth discussion and make important progress.”

No specific details on Tuesday’s discussions were released, and the six-party talks including Japan, China, Russia and South Korea resumed early today.

Although there appears to be a consensus that the Korean peninsula should be denuclearized, the North and the U.S. may interpret the term differently.

North Korea’s idea of denuclearization, some reports said, is to eliminate nuclear weapons from South Korea as well. The United States maintains that it got rid of such weapons in the region during the early 1990s. It’s also unclear whether Pyongyang is implying that it wants Washington to stop sending nuclear submarines to the area.

After his meetings with his North Korean counterpart Tuesday, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill told reporters that Pyongyang had expressed continuing concern about which side would act first.

Washington’s position has been that North Korea’s verifiable disarmament should precede any rewards. Pyongyang wants concessions first.

“They do not want to have obligations ahead of other people’s obligations,” Hill said.

U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack stressed in Washington that the current talks were preliminary. Both sides are committed to making progress and taking as much time as they need to resolve their differences, he said.

“This is just the first day, I expect the first of many, in which we talk about various aspects of the June proposal as well as comparing notes on how to make progress on these talks,” he said.

That proposal was put forth by the U.S. during the last round of six-nation talks, which ended inconclusively in June 2004.

Under that plan, Washington called on Pyongyang to disclose all its nuclear weapons systems, agree to international monitoring and begin demobilizing its most dangerous weapons within an initial three-month period. In return, Pyongyang would receive immediate shipments of heavy fuel oil and an interim U.S. pledge that it would not attack.

Later on, North Korea would be required to dismantle its entire nuclear weapons program and allow international monitoring in return for aid, diplomatic recognition and a more permanent security agreement.

Pyongyang walked away from those talks, repeating that the U.S. should first give up its hostile policy.

However, during his opening remarks Tuesday in Beijing, North Korea’s envoy to the talks, Kim Gye Gwan, said his country was committed to disarmament.

“This is a ship that has just left shore,” said Kim, adding that North Korea was ready to “sail to the goal” of a denuclearized Korean peninsula.